‘Grand coalition gov’t was the best Kenya ever had’: Raila reflects on Kibaki legacy

Azimio-One Kenya party presidential aspirant and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga says the grand coalition formed by himself and the late former president Mwai Kibaki after the historic handshake in 2008, was the best government that Kenya ever had since independence.

As he reflects on the good times he had with the late president, Odinga acknowledges that Kibaki gave him time and space to perform his duties as a Prime Minister, in the interest of national development and peaceful co-existence.

Odinga says the historic handshake between him and Kibaki restored the spirit of harambee among Kenyans in April 2008, after the post-election violence of 2007 due to the contested poll outcomes.

”There were negotiations which were brokered by the team led by the late Kofi Annan, President Benjamin Mkapa and Madam Graca Machel…We had set up a team, four from our side and four from Kibaki’s side, which had negotiated and until towards the end there were stalemates over provisions of the accord," Odinga said in an interview with Citizen TV.

The ODM leader recalls how he and Kibaki were sat down by the Kofi Annan team to have a candid conversation on the political crisis in the country and the quest for a lasting solution to end the ugly violence between political and ethnic groups.

“So I said that I'm ready to let President Kibaki go and do another final term and work together and then President Kibaki also agreed that we would work together in that final term," he explained.

He noted that the handshake between him and President Kibaki saved Kenya from violently tearing apart. And so, for peace and the greater good of the country, the duo shook hands in public, as a sign of a fresh start and the grand coalition government was born in February 2008.

“It was, therefore, necessary to go beyond our personal interests and think about the country, and that is what drove me to agree that we should make a compromise," he noted.

"We shook hands first with them before we did it in public and we agreed that we work together to ensure that the grand coalition that we are going to form will deliver to the people of Kenya."

Following the mutual agreement to end the political stalemate, Kibaki and Raila then announced their Cabinet and Raila’s role was to basically coordinate and supervise the functions of the government, as the chair of the cabinet ministers.

“President Kibaki allowed me time and space to do exactly that as a Prime Minister. So, I know that many Kenyans agree that, that was the best government that Kenya has ever had since independence," Odinga added.

As the country continues to mourn the late third president, Odinga says he was fortunate enough to have worked very closely with him, a person he describes as a selfless Head of State who always had the people’s priorities at heart.