Until their unexpected recent political truce, President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA Chief Raila Odinga have been ' sworn political enemies' and to avoid the backlash, Raila's key allies have kept off Uhuru. However, one man has always been there for the President.
After losing his seat during the 2013 elections, former Alego-Usonga MP Edwin Ochieng Yinda announced that he was quitting politics saying that the voters had spoken. What next for Nyanza's business magnate? He went back to Mombasa to run his logistics businesses. Then a year later, an opportunity came knocking.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had appointed the former MP to be the first chairman of the Information Communication Technology Authority ( ICTA). The appointment came at the height of the Uhuru-Raila political rivalry. With Fred Matiang'I being in charge of the ICT Ministry at a the time, Yinda was close to the centre of power.
And even after the famous handshake, the former MP was recently reappointed to his position. The appointment sent a statement of some sorts; that the 67-year old has the President's trust.
Though former Kisumu Central MP Ken Obura and Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju also enjoy close relationship with the President, Yinda could be slightly ahead of them.