Raila's exit from Kenya's politics is a huge blow to the opposition, says MP Koech

This is after Odinga announced he will be taking a stab at the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson position.

In Koech's view, Odinga has for aeons pioneered a vibrant and agile opposition that has always kept the government in check and his possible absence will emasculate the verve in politics.

"Raila Odinga is the opposition and the opposition is Raila Odinga. Without him the opposition is deemed to be very limited," he said speaking in an interview with Citizen TV on Monday.

The legislator noted that Odinga has played a pivotal role not only in politics but also in the transformation of the nation having been a champion for democracy.

He however assured that the government has committed to throw its weight behind his bid.

"In the history of this country, there is no political survivor that has withstood time like Raila Odinga. He has given value to our democracy [and] to our national discourse. We wish him very well," he said.

Odinga has affirmed that he will be determined to transform the face of Africa and realign it to become an economic superpower.

"As a Pan-Africanist I believe strongly that Africa is playing in the league that it should not play. That Africa deserves better," he noted at a past press address.

"This is something we need to reverse and it can only be reversed if we as a continent marshal all our resources for the faster socio-economic growth of our continent." 

Support from African Heads of State will be crucial in catapulting Odinga to the plum job as former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo has already declared his support for the premier's bid.

The seat is set to fall vacant next year as its current occupant, Chad's Moussa Faki, is set to finish his second term.

Faki was first appointed in 2017 and won a second term in 2021.

The Kenyan opposition coalition, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party has however maintained that they will remain a formidable force despite Odinga's feasible exit as their leader.