Politics & Economy

The repression unleashed by newly re-elected President Samia Suluhu Hassan has also been unprecedented. She has gone further than her autocratic predecessors in closing off the political space and silencing opposition figures.

One of the markers of Kenyan statesman Raila Odinga was not just his courage in challenging the establishment but his ability to fortify it when circumstances demanded. An example was his willingness in 2007 to set aside his ambition at having been robbed of the presidency in a rigged election by agreeing to a coalition government with his opponent, President Mwai Kibaki. Odinga espoused compromise and never squandered the political moment. Thus he ceded political ground for the greater national good and stability.

Raila Amolo Odinga, who died on 15 October 2025, aged 80, ran five times for the Kenyan presidency but didn’t win. Yet he became a statesman of enormous influence, whose political and humanitarian achievements surpassed those of many African heads of state. He will be remembered as one of the most important figures in the struggle for multiparty democracy.

Having self-identified as a revolutionary, Odinga later proved to be committed to institutional reform and democratisation. His greatest legacy is the 2010 constitution, which attempted to devolve power away from the “imperial presidency”, which he campaigned for over many years.