ODM party leader Raila Odinga could be Kenya's fifth president, political commentator Samwel Omwenga has opined.
Omwenga said if the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) formed following the March 9 handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila was to ensure the former is succeeded by the latter, nothing will stop that from happening, including Deputy President William Ruto.
"Truth is, if Uhuru is committed as he is to seeing his buddy become the next President for the reasons he has articulated, and with the system behind him, no myths about Ruto or money will stop that from becoming a reality," he wrote in a column on Saturday.
Omwenga, who is also a legal analyst, said even though it may look harder for Uhuru to campaign for the ODM boss in the populous Mt Kenya region, nothing is impossible in politics.
He said Ruto has already made inroads in Mt Kenya and Raila could be perceived as an 'enemy' in the region but noted all that could change in the former Prime Minister's favour if Uhuru endorses him for the presidency.
"A subset of this argument posits that Uhuru, having contributed to Raila hatred in Central, cannot make the about-turn he has and now expect people in Central to buy his new case that Raila is not the devil reincarnate as he and others depicted him all these years."
"However, as the adage goes, there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics, only permanent interests. It is precisely for this altruism we have the handshake. That being the case, Ruto is dreaming that he can defeat Uhuru and Raila in their resolve to bury the hatchet and join hands in doing what is right for Kenya," Omwenga added.
However, it is important to note that both Raila and Uhuru have been avoiding 2022 succession politics, and have repeatedly said their handshake was about uniting the country.