Raila Odinga: The master of political handshake
Politics
By
Mike Kihaki
| Oct 15, 2025
Few political figures in Africa have perfected the art of reconciliation like Raila Amollo Odinga.
Across Kenya’s turbulent political journey, his handshakes became turning points, symbolic acts that reshaped governments, calmed tempers, and redefined alliances.
Each handshake tells a story of rivalry turned partnership, of wounds dressed with politics, and of Odinga’s uncanny ability to rise again where others would fall.
From Moi to Ruto, every handshake was both a reconciliation and a recalibration.
Odinga turned the simple act of joining hands into a symbol of endurance, proof that in Kenyan politics, yesterday’s enemies can become tomorrow’s allies.
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The Moi Handshake - 2001
In 2001, Kenya watched in disbelief as Raila Odinga walked into State House to shake hands with President Daniel arap Moi, the very man whose government had detained him for eight years without trial.
Odinga just merged his National Development Party (NDP) with the ruling KANU, forming “New KANU.” Moi rewarded him with the position of Minister for Energy, bringing several NDP allies into government.
“I have forgiven but not forgotten,” Raila said at the time, stressing that the merger was not surrender but strategy, a chance to learn the machinery of state power.
But the truce was short-lived. When Moi endorsed a young Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor in 2002, Odinga led a mass walkout from KANU, declaring:
“The people must have a say in who leads them.”
That fallout birthed the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), which swept Moi’s regime from power later that year.
The Kibaki Handshake - 2008
Six years later, Kenya plunged into chaos after the disputed 2007 election. More than 1,200 people were killed, and over 600,000 were displaced in post-election violence.
International mediators led by Kofi Annan brokered a peace deal between President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.
On February 28, 2008, the two men shook hands at Harambee House, sealing a power-sharing agreement that made Raila Prime Minister.
“It is time to heal and rebuild. There are no victors or vanquished, only Kenyans,” Odinga said.
That handshake ushered in the Grand Coalition Government, a fragile but functional partnership that stabilised the country and enabled Kenya’s most progressive reform era, including the 2010 Constitution.
The Uhuru Handshake - 2018
Ten years later, Odinga did it again, this time with former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
After the divisive 2017 election, Odinga had rejected the results and even sworn himself in as the “People’s President.”
Then, on March 9, 2018, on the steps of Harambee House, the two men surprised the nation with a handshake.
“It is time to put our country before ourselves. We have agreed to build bridges, not walls,” Odinga said.
The handshake birthed the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), aimed at governance reform and national unity. Politically, it elevated Odinga to what experts said was a de facto deputy president, while William Ruto, Kenyatta’s actual deputy, found himself sidelined from the inner circle.
The Ruto Handshake - 2024
In March 2024, history repeated itself. Following weeks of Gen Z protests over high taxes and governance failures, Odinga stepped in, not as an agitator but as a peacemaker.
On March 7, 2025, he and President William Ruto signed the Kenya Kwanza - ODM Framework Agreement at KICC, pledging to work together for national unity.
“When young people rise, it is not to destroy but to remind us of our duty. This handshake is not surrender; it is service to Kenya,” Odinga said, describing the moment as a bridge from pain to possibility.