Raila Odinga celebrates after the Supreme Court ruling on Friday. [Photo: x254.co.ke]
Some say that Nasa flag bearer Raila Odinga is a master of double speak who only agrees with things when they go his way or seem to favour him.
Others say that he is a 'cry-baby' who will never be contented no matter what. Still, there are those who believe that Raila's concerns are always genuine and honest. Well, whatever your views are, this is a matter subject to a lengthy debate.
That said, let us focus on Raila's recent and unprecedented Supreme Court victory that gave him a fresh political lifeline at least for the next two months.
While Raila, his NASA coalition and supporters went wild in celebrations when the Supreme Court called for a fresh presidential election, they forgot one thing; it is not the whole election that will be repeated. To paraphrase, the other five elections from MCA to governor aren't subject to the Supreme Court ruling.
This is where the problem is! In fact, it is the worst blunder that Raila committed that will see his fifth quest for the presidency rendered 'null and void' by the electorate. Why say all this 'prophet of doom?'
Well, when Raila went to the Supreme Court, he should have either called for the nullification of the whole August 8 General Election that brought about the 'vifaranga wa kompyuta' or demanded that the court declare him the winner.
Instead, he opted to petition the court to nullify and order a fresh presidential election which the apex court did. This will, however, be the hardest presidential quest ever for Raila as even some of his supporters do not have much confidence in him as they were before August 8.
They view him as a good, experienced military general who is capable of winning a rough battle decisively, but has ill-equipped troops. Who wants a President who cannot even secure his own tenure because he can be impeached at any time his opponent wishes? Like it or not, 'President Raila' would only last in power as long as his fierce rival Uhuru wishes. He will be a highly compromised President who will be a Jubilee puppet at zero option!
So, if Raila had called for the nullification of the whole election, perhaps he could have been able to tilt some numbers in Parliament in his favour. He, nevertheless, never saw this coming or he simply overlooked it.
Unfortunately, this will be the small yet a weighty blunder that will see Raila's presidential ambition come down crumbling down like a house of cards. Things will be rough, brutal and unforgiving for the 72-year-old who will be making his fifth and perhaps the last shot at the presidency.