Events 2018: How the Handshake shocked many People

How the Uhuru-Raila Handshake changed Kenya

The handshake between two erstwhile rivals in last year’s State House contest; Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga was one of the key highlights in 2018, and radically altered Kenya’s political landscape.

The country began 2018 with two Presidents. Uhuru Kenyatta seeking to assert his authority as he began a second term, after a near solo run in the October 2017 repeat presidential poll boycotted by his arch-rival Raila Odinga.

On January 30th, Odinga, in a mock swearing in ceremony, took an oath as the People’s President, a position unknown in the 2010 Constitution, amid fears of treason charges being instituted against him.

But in under two months, the tension and anxiety that had gripped the nation was wiped away in just one handshake on the steps of Harambee House.

A scenario akin to the 2008 handshake, only that Mr. Kenyatta had replaced former President Mwai Kibaki in the political script.

What seemed like a clear succession path in the ruling Jubilee Party was jolted, and talk of an imminent referendum to amend the constitution has dominated the political scene.

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But it’s the secrecy with which the handshake was crafted that confounded friend and foe, even reverberating beyond the borders. Even those very close to Kenyatta and Odinga were kept in the dark.

A decision made ostensibly to lock out the would be hardliners.

“Tulikubaliana nije peke yangu, na yeye peke yeke, asiye na Ruto, na mimi nisije na Kalonzo…it was talks before the talks,” said Raila.

At the heart of this handshake, are attempts to find solutions to long standing national issues that spark ethnic and political friction every five years.

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A panel constituted to collect views from a cross section of Kenyans is expected to submit its report, with recommendations by mid-2019. But there is already talk of a looming referendum to amend the constitution enacted eight years ago.

Odinga, for instance, proposing a Parliamentary system of government and a three-tier devolution structure that will introduce 14 regional governments, alongside the 47 devolved units.

Kenyatta too has hinted at a likely departure from the presidential model of governance.

“This model of election where the winner takes it all and some people feel left out of the government, we must ask ourselves, is it a good thing?” said Kenyatta.

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