Why you should not take new handshake with a lot of seriousness

The usually busy and intrigue-packed Kenyan political space got even last Friday. After a lengthy period of vacillation, Raila Odinga finally cast his lots with President William Ruto. He was spoilt for choice, with the two emerging political formations fighting for his attention, support and alignment. Friday put matters to rest, at least for now; courtesy of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the leaders of the country’s two largest parties.

The MoU identified a number of things that the two formations profiled as deserving attention. They include, corruption; youth unemployment; protection and strengthening of devolution; and respect for the rule of law. A collaborative framework between the two formations is prescribed as a potent remedial intervention. With the two hitherto opponents with immense following closing ranks, it would be highly tempting to believe the justification behind the rapprochement. Our history serves as a reality check however. It injects a dose of scepticism and pessimism to any potential excitement.

There was a sense of déjà vu to the events of last week Friday at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). Almost seven years ago, a relatable scene played out not so far from KICC. On March 9, 2018, a surprise handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga took place at Harambee House. It birthed the well-known Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

Corruption menace

In their joint statement, Uhuru and Raila identified nine issues that they argued needed redress: Ethnic antagonism and competition, lack of national ethos, inclusivity, devolution, divisive elections, safety and security, corruption, shared prosperity, and rights and responsibilities. The two leaders would work collaboratively for the next five years, supposedly to address the challenges.

How did they perform? Let’s take, for example, corruption, a common problem featuring under the both rapprochements. There is every reason to believe that the Uhuru-Raila handshake did incredibly little, if anything, to address the debilitating corruption menace. In any case, it seems to have emboldened and provided safe cover for the corrupt serving the regime. Kenya’s score under the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) remained dismal throughout; registering a 27 per cent in 2018, 28 per cent in 2019, 31 per cent in 2020, 30 per cent in 2021.

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The scores since Ruto took over power are not any better. The 2022 score stood at 32 per cent, 31 per cent in 2023, and 32 per cent in 2024. That the administration is scandal-ridden is no secret. The question therefore is, how different will the current rapprochement be in addressing corruption, and indeed all the identified challenges? But an even more critical question is, how would the rapprochement foster compliance with the Constitution? Why do we need a handshake, or its related iterations, to comply with the Constitution? Do we need a handshake to stop abductions for instance? Isn’t it just a matter of compliance. Let us not forget that just last year the ODM donated its ‘experts’ to help stabilise the government. What has that achieved?

Sadly, answers to these questions point in one direction; a fight for a share of the extraction. Hoping for otherwise is just a pie in the sky.

Mr Ogutu is a political commentator