Raila's indomitable will saw him cry, walk and keep fighting for justice

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who died last week, was a man who could “cry and walk at the same time”—a relentless fighter who refused to be broken by political defeat or legal frustration.

His long-time lawyer Paul Mwangi, has described him as a leader who, despite enduring crushing electoral losses and courtroom disappointments, always kept his gaze fixed firmly on the next battle.

In an interview, Mwangi, who had been Raila’s legal adviser since 2012, recalled how the veteran politician, who unsuccessfully ran for the presidency five times and suffered numerous legal setbacks, was always strategising his next move and never indulged in self-pity, a trait that helped him stay focused on his goals.

Mwangi said Raila detested whining and was quickly irritated whenever allies dwelt on problems without offering solutions.

“One of the things people close to Raila knew,” he said, “was that once he decided to move in a certain direction, he never waited for you to catch up. If you hesitated or doubted his decision, he would move ahead and you had to run to keep pace with him.”

The lawyer said that while some of Raila’s allies retreated to mourn electoral losses, the former premier would be in meetings with his legal team drafting petitions. When he lost court cases, he immediately began planning his next move.

“His rule number one was to keep moving. Even after defeat, he never whined. Each time we left Bomas, the next day there would be a meeting to prepare a petition. Walking and working with Raila, you learnt how to cry and walk at the same time,” said Mwangi.

Raila Rules

He noted that Raila always factored betrayal into political dealings but never acted with suspicion. He believed that any human being was capable of betraying him or the cause, but his definition of betrayal was different.

“If you took a better option from what he had offered you and needed to move in a different direction, he would not count that as betrayal. He hoped you would make the best decision for your future. There are many people who worked for him and moved to greener pastures, and that did not affect their future relationship with him,” observed Mwangi.

Raila, Mwangi said, lived bravely and was never afraid of death, and this was one of the reasons he never hesitated to join protests, regardless of personal safety. The lawyer said Raila, in many instances, told his allies that he believed in the saying “you only live once.”

Mwangi said that having worked for Raila for 14 years, he had compiled about 30 attributes and character traits about him, and was in talks with him on how to put them in a book he intended to name “Raila’s Rules” before he died on October 15.

“This was an unfinished project I had with him before his death. It had captured different aspects of his character that were easily discernible. You saw it throughout the activities he engaged in. It is from that consistency that you understand there was a way he dealt with things,” said Mwangi.

The lawyer regretted that the meeting he had planned with Raila to go through the draft and get his input did not materialise, saying they were to meet after his trip from India.

“Before he went to Dubai, we had a sitting and started discussing the draft. I had gone to his office, but he said it was not a conversation we could have there and asked me to go to his Karen home. We needed about 30 minutes to sit, talk, hear my perspective, and see where he needed to correct. On the day I was to go and see him, he canceled saying that he needed to travel to Dubai. After Dubai, he headed to Malindi and promised we would meet, but because of a meeting with the ODM and Gor Mahia teams, we never did. It was then that I sent him the draft while he was in India, but unfortunately, he did not make it back.”

Mwangi said working with Raila was intellectually enriching, as the ODM leader had deep knowledge of law, politics, the environment, and the economy.

He began working for Raila in 2012, when Miguna Miguna was released from his job. The two did not know each other. He was recommended following his legal and political analysis on a local television in a programme dubbed “Kibaki Succession”.

 “Raila’s aide, Idris Abraman, approached me about replacing Miguna Miguna. I was hesitant. But some level-headed people I consulted  said it was an honour,” he recalled.

He first met Raila for tea in Karen. Raila wanted him to understand what he believed in, and for a period of two hours, he started shaping his mind about the leader he was going to work for. He noted that Raila detested ethnicity and that he did not have to earn his trust, since he never sought people based on tribe but rather ability, character, and competence.

Generous man

According to Mwangi, many people did not know that Raila was generous because he never talked about it, explaining that the ODM leader had offered financial assistance and sponsorship to many but never mentioned it publicly.“He was very compassionate and empathetic about people’s suffering and could not turn his head away from situations that required his help. He never turned against people who needed his financial assistance,” he noted.

According to the counsel, Raila’s lowest moment was after he left the Office of the Prime Minister following the 2013 general election.

“Although he managed to walk through it, the pain was unendurable for the people around him. It pained a lot when he stepped down from the seat of Prime Minister. The two years after that were hard for those close to him,” Mwangi said.

His highest moment came when the Supreme Court nullified the 2017 presidential election and later, when he reconciled (shook hands) with Uhuru Kenyatta through the Building Bridges Initiative.

In his period serving Raila, Mwangi said he was engaged in drafting various agreements that Raila entered into with other political figures, disclosing that he prepared the original drafts before other political leaders were engaged.

This, he said, was necessitated by the manner in which Raila’s office had been bypassed during the Grand Coalition Government headed by the late President Mwai Kibaki, where consultations were made without requiring Raila’s input.

“Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, there were words that haunted his term; the phrase in the National Accord that talked about ‘in consultation with the Prime Minister’. The Accord had been intended for power-sharing, meaning he would get substantive powers in decision-making. But all the President needed to do was prove that he had consulted Raila, and there were no consequences if he ignored his advice. Kibaki often proceeded without his consent,” Mwangi noted.

He added, “As I worked for him, I also knew he had become sensitive to words used in documents and was therefore very keen on reviewing any critical document before it was signed.”

Some of the documents that passed through Mwangi’s hands included the Memorandum of Understanding between Raila and Uhuru, the National Super Alliance agreements between Raila and his co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), and Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya).

He was also involved in the Azimio coalition agreements between Raila, Martha Karua (PLP, formerly Narc Kenya), Kalonzo, Uhuru Kenyatta (Jubilee), and other affiliate parties. Mwangi also drafted the ten-point agenda between Raila and Ruto that comprised the Memorandum of Understanding between ODM and UDA.

Mwangi said Raila was always concerned whenever it appeared the country was backsliding on the democratic gains it had achieved.

“He was proud of the steps the country had made over the years, not as great as he would have wished, but not retrogressive either. He always became concerned when it seemed we were going backwards. He felt that although we were far from his dream, we were still making progress,” Mwangi noted.