No one can fit into Raila's shoes, Prof Kindiki tells Baba wannabes

As Kenya grapples with the aftermath of Raila Odinga’s demise and pretenders to the throne plot to inherit his kingdom, the man who counted the doyen’s last votes at Bomas of Kenya warns them of the futility of their mission.

“If you are planning to fit in the shoes of Raila Odinga, forget. Go and buy your own because Raila’s shoes are very big and can not be filled by anybody. It is difficult to replace any human being. Anybody who thinks he can replace Raila will fail. He is irreplaceable .There can only be one Raila and he is gone. Chart your own destiny.” Isaiah Kindiki, the man who acted as Raila’s assistant chief agent in the 2022 presidential polls, says

The professor of soil science, who is also the vice chancellor and chief executive officer of KCA University, joined Raila in 2016.

Prof Kindiki is convinced that Kenya will never have another politician like Raila, a legend whose ability to mobilise without transporting supporters to a venue was confirmed by the thousands that halted business at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on October 16 to receive his body.

To Kindki, Raila, whom he refers to as his father and mentor, was a leader who inspired total and absolute loyalty, which explains why after his death ordinary people, top politicians, former presidents from Kenya and beyond continue thronging his final resting place in Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo.

He says a leader can occupy a position and do nothing. At the end of their tenure they fade away because they made no meaningful impact. That is not the same with Raila. He had qualities that endeared him to people who knew him personally and those who had just heard of him. 

Kindiki, who is still reeling from the shock of losing a friend he had known since 2016, recalls how he received a call from the ODM leader requesting him to go to Bomas of Kenya to be his proposer while he was being handed the presidential ticket.

“ I was shocked when Raila casually requested me to be his chief agent. Millions of ODM supporters could have given anything to be honoured with such a duty but here I was, a total outsider being given the honour.  I will never forget that day,” he said.

And for this, the don says had he had an opportunity to share the last word with the departed leader, he would revisit this mission.

Bomas was the national tallying centre where returns of presidential votes were made and the final result announced by the chairman of IEBC, the late Wafula Chebukati, on August 15, 2022.

According to the tally, William Ruto polled 7,176,141 (50.49%) against Raila’s 6,942,930 (48.85%).

“ If I had an opportunity to say goodbye to my leader, I would thank him for showing enormous trust in me. I do not know what you saw in me but your action really moved me. I am convinced that you did your best as a candidate. You sacrificed a lot for your country and it it is time to take a well deserved rest.”   

Isaiah, who was at Bomas at a time when his younger brother, Kithure Kindiki was superintending tallying of votes cast for William Ruto, brushes off perceptions that something went wrong with the Azimio agents across the country during the 2022 elections.

According to the don, there is no death without a cause in the African context, and some of Raila fans had been conditioned to believe that the electoral system had been rigged against their candidate when the outcome of the election results did not favour them. 

“It was my job to work with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. I verified the results and was convinced that the results were a reflection of the wishes of the voters. It was painful for our candidate to fail for the fifth time but everybody had done their best.”

As to whether the country was any poorer for denying Raila an opportunity to be President, the don holds a controversial view. 

Although Raila has failed to win the presidency five times, because of his pragmatism, he has been able to indirectly influence the way policies are made in the country by sharing his views and plans with successive presidents.

He likens Raila’s approach to that adopted by Abraham Lincoln, the American president who invited rivals in his cabinet and ultimately enriched his government by allowing dissent views.

“The fact that he donated experts to Ruto, a man he had robustly campaigned against in 2022, shows that Raila was not selfish with his ideas. By having his people in the most powerful sectors in government, Raila was indirectly sharing the vision of what he wanted Kenya to be,” Kindiki says.

He is convinced that Raila was deliberate when he joined President Ruto in the broad based government and had very clear intentions of what he wanted ODM and UDA to do in 2027.

“I will not be surprised if the two parties join forces in 2027. Raila died knowing that his party was in government. Although there are is a faction that believes that ODM ought to chart its own destiny, in politics, coalitions and factions are normal. The ODM of Baba is in government,” he says.