While the former prime minister Raila Odinga has not publicly declared if he will take a fifth aim at the presidency come next electioneering period of 2022, his close allies have been hinting that he could throw his hat in the ring again.
After months of speculation of an imminent role as an African Union envoy, the ODM leader was on Saturday appointed High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa by the AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.
His appointment as an African Union High Representative is causing jitters among his supporters and the Opposition that it could pave the way for William Ruto’s easy ride to State House.
His key allies are worried that his new continental role might remove him from Kenyan politics and jeopardize his chances of taking the presidency in 2022.
In his new role, Raila will spearhead the AU’s infrastructure drive and the Planning and Coordinating Agency of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
As a special envoy of the AU chairperson, Raila will have an office in Addis, but with frequent travel across the continent.
This could be a highly-engaging itinerary that could keep him on the move as he organizes investment and other transnational development initiatives.
While Raila will also have an office in Nairobi with staff and advisers to boost his local presence and unity programmes with Uhuru, politicians believe his schedule could chip away at his local influence.
Some of his allies have already started speculations that the appointment might have been well planned by his main opponents to shun him from local politics.
While his tight schedule keeps him busy with continental matters, his 2022 opponent DP William Ruto will be busy keeping his house in order.
With the fact that Raila’s main office will be in Addis Ababa, time to reach his people or rather keep his house in order will be limited.
This will make it easy for Ruto to do his “tanga tanga” operations across the country, more so in Raila’s strongholds to earn a following which may make him climb to the top most seat easily.
Those apprehensive of the future also say the ODM leader should be cautious about the appointment as it could be a bait by his rivals to remove him from the political contest.
Since he is the cornerstone of NASA, his absence should be a concern because that would throw his allies into disarray and reorganizing themselves might be a big challenge.