Raila Odinga on Wednesday, March 5, continued with his public consultation forums in Wajir, ahead of the highly anticipated political direction he has promised to announce soon. Raila Odinga ruled out a political alliance with Rigathi Gachagua. The meeting, attended by Wajir governor Ahmed Abdullahi Mohammed and several MCAs, saw Odinga engage the local populace, seeking their opinions on whether he should consider joining former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua’s political camp. Will Raila join Gachagua’s camp? The residents resoundingly opposed the idea, leading the opposition leader to hint at ruling out any collaboration with Gachagua. During the forum, Raila took a swipe at Gachagua, referring to his previous remarks where he had vowed to set traps preventing Raila from accessing State House and dismissed any chances of a handshake or a power-sharing deal.
“Halafu kuna yule aliweka mitego. Akasema ameweka mitego kila mahali Statehouse hakuna kupita, hakuna handshake hakuna nusu mkate. Mnataka tuende kwa huyo?” (There’s the one who said he has set traps everywhere so that I cannot enter Statehouse, and there’s no handshake or coalition government. Do you want us to work with him?),” Raila posed to the crowd, which responded with a resounding rejection. Raila then narrated one of his famous ‘kitendawili’ to emphasise the consequences of Gachagua’s political scheming. He told the story of a man who set a trap to catch a rat but ended up suffering from his own actions.
In his story, the man set a trap using bait. The rat, noticing the bait but also the danger, sought help from a hen. The hen dismissed its concerns, stating it had no interest in traps. The rat then approached a goat, which also refused to intervene. Lastly, the rat sought help from a cow, but the cow, being too big and living outside, saw no reason to care about the trap. Raila Odinga narrated how Rigathi Gachagua’s Statehouse ‘traps’ ensnared himself. That night, the trap snapped. The man, believing he had caught the rat, rushed to check, only to find that a venomous snake had been ensnared instead. The snake bit him, and he succumbed to the poison. As the news spread, mourners came to his home. To feed them, the hen was butchered. As more people arrived, the goat was also fed to the mourners. By the time of the burial, the number of visitors had grown so large that the cow, too, had to be sacrificed.
Raila humorously likened Gachagua to the man who set the trap, suggesting that his own political strategies had backfired, leaving him out of play while Raila himself still has access to Statehouse and continues to engage in high-profile meetings. He pointed out how Gachagua, despite his earlier confidence, is now sidelined following his political struggles and impeachment. In the engagement, Raila also hinted at working with Ruto’s government, highlighting the issues raised by locals, such as high cost of living and ineffective Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Raila continues consultations ahead of big announcement Raila’s remarks come at a time when speculation is rife that he may soon enter into a formal coalition agreement with Ruto’s government. He has been traversing the country, engaging locals in consultations ahead of his big announcement, which could potentially reshape Kenya’s political landscape. From Wajir, Raila jetted back to Kisumu, where he is expected to hold similar discussions in neighbouring Nyamira, Kisii, and Narok counties.
by Harry Ivan Mboto
