NASA leader Raila Odinga, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi at a past event. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
They call him an enigma of Kenyan politics, the fulcrum within which Kenyan politics has been rotating over the past two decades.
Due to his ability to pull the crowd, Raila Odinga has spread his political net past his Luo Nyanza backyard.The former Prime Minister has dominated Coast region politics since 2005 when he teamed up with a group of politicians from the region to reject the proposed Constitution in a referendum which his side won against President Mwai Kibaki's side.When he made his second stab at the presidency in 2007, the Coastal strip overwhelmingly voted for him, and when he fell out with his key allies in the region in the run to the 2013 elections, his support was not affected. Voters in the region still backed him in 2013 when he ran for presidency for the third time.With his key foot soldiers being outspoken Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi, the veteran politician ensured that he galvanized his support base in readiness for the August 8, 2017 poll.Though he won in all the regions six counties against President Uhuru Kenyatta, the margin of his win had been cut as the Jubilee leader managed to get a good return in a region that had proved to be his hostile ground.Besides that, Jubilee party won two governor seats in the region, several MP, senator and MCA seats. The win confirms Raila’s influence in the region's politics is slowly fading and a complete shift in the political dynamics in the area might take place in 2022.