Two families have dominated Kenyan politics since independence — the Kenyatta and the Odinga families.
What the Kenyatta family has been able to do with power and holding on to it, the Odinga family has been able to do the same as the force to reckon in the opposition.
They have also made sure along the way, that the Kenyatta family inescapably feels their heat, and they have.
So much so such that President Uhuru Kenyatta said enough is enough and he let nature or the powers that be take their course. As the powers or God would have it, the result was the historic handshake between the two political titans.
The handshake redefined and continues to shape Kenyan politics.
Those of us who analyse or follow politics closely doubted, and some continue to doubt, if the handshake would last.
I once asked someone who speaks to the President on a regular basis where he placed the chances of the handshake remaining intact by meeting its stated objectives.
On a scale of one to 10, the senior statesman told me he would place the chances at nine.
That surprised me because I and others I know would have placed it slightly above five — and this was long before the purging of DP William Ruto’s allies from Jubilee leadership positions.
With all that has transpired since, the doubts have been removed and now we’re at par with the statesman.
The reason is both complex and simple. To keep it simple, there are debts to be repaid in this country and none deserves that more than Raila Odinga.
Repayment of the debt is not just personal to the man, but is symbolic of hitting a big restart button for the country to heal the wounds of the past, and move to a bright future where there is no more indignation, hatred and tribal division.
This is what BBI is intended to deliver and anyone objecting to that can only be seeking the country to remain stuck in the dark past. That is simply unacceptable.
To be sure, the final BBI report is yet to be made public but I reach this conclusion and state it as such because, if the taskforce were to adhere to its mandate, that’s precisely the product they will put forth.
One person who sees BBI as unacceptable is Ruto because he sees it as a plot to derail his presidential ambitions.
So much so that he is now the new opposition leader.
His recent rallies across the country, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, are nothing but a chapter from Raila’s 2003-07 playbook, minus the virus.
The man says those who want to stop him from ascending to the presidency have the system, but he has the masses and God.
As a Seventh Day Adventist, I would remind the leader of the so-called Hustler Nation that God does not play politics. To claim God as being on your side, and not on the side of your opponent may appeal the gullible, but not anyone else.
So, let us just leave God out of that one. Even as we pray that whatever the outcome, He grants us the mercies of having a more united and peaceful country come 2022.
Raila had the masses and Ruto can never have any more than he did. However, as Ruto himself knows, the system found its way as it always does.
That being the case, and being the new opposition leader, let Ruto enjoy the masses cheering him on and be prepared to say Yes, Your Excellency, when addressing the likely next President.
The only way forward for Ruto is to either cool his heels under Raila or challenge the system and be lucky if he lives to challenge it again in 2027, 2032 or maybe 2037.