Raila’s swearing in: Here are the winners and losers of controversial event

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It’s been a year since Raila Odinga swore himself in as the People’s President.

As reports indicate today, he had bouts of uncertainty in the run-up to the event at Uhuru Park in Nairobi. His soldiers Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula were a no-show.
Standing next to Raila was lawyer Miguna Miguna and Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang.
In his book Treason: The Case Against Tyrants and Renegades released in Toronto, Canada on Saturday, Miguna says Raila was, in fact, against the swearing-in.

But Miguna, Siaya Senator James Orengo and businessman Jimi Wanjigi urged him to keep on. The NASA leader might have had valid reasons to have second thoughts, going by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government’s threats to charge him with treason if he dared take the oath. He did.
To Kenyans, who felt aggrieved with the outcome of the repeat Presidential polls in October 26, the oath-taking was assurance that Raila was still a force to be reckoned with.

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Today, so much water has gone under the bridge. In fact, the Building Bridges Initiative was birthed out of the controversial event that seems to have hurt some of the politicians’ clout.
On March 9, Raila and Uhuru signed a unity deal, putting to an end the power struggle and the brewing anxiety among supporters in the Jubilee and NASA camps.
Kalonzo and Mudavadi seem to have come up for air and remained relevant in their political circles.

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While there are whispers from some quarters on Kalonzo no longer being the Ukambani kingpin, Mudavadi has strived to keep his ANC party in check and maintained control of the Luhya bloc. The case is different for Wetang’ula. Only 2022 will reveal the true effects of missing the swearing in and the aftermath of the Handshake.

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