AVWONDA: Long live the crown! Raila Odinga’s boldness will be missed on Kenya’s political stage

Raila Odinga mobilised millions of Kenyans into one of the most resilient political movements in recent history--the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

The firebrand politician exited the stage on October 15, 2025, bearing multiple scars, earned through his relentless pursuit of social justice and democratic reform. 

His symbolic statesmanship, now more prominent posthumously, was forged in his push for constitutional change, devolution, and fundamental freedoms.

The controversies surrounding every presidential election Raila Odinga contested cast long shadows over his towering legacy.

From surviving detention to becoming a central figure in Kenya’s political evolution, Odinga’s story continues to be written and rewritten--especially in the Pan-Africanist future he had begun to envision.

Yet to dwell solely on his past is to ignore the vacuum he leaves behind. Not only within his political party--now riddled with ideological orphans--but across the broader sociopolitical and economic landscape he so profoundly shaped. Many have remarked that Odinga was the wild card who quelled the Gen-Z storm that shook the Kenya Kwanza administration.

His love for the people--and the people’s enduring love for the enigma--transcends his passing.

Kenya’s political space may struggle to survive a post-charismatic opposition, given the glaring ideological void among aspiring successors.

Beyond the politics of 2027, no one appears poised to defend the people with even half the boldness of Raila Amolo Odinga.

The downshift following Odinga’s demise reflects a broader generational shift--where younger leaders increasingly favour instruction over intention, greed over altruism, and personality over people.

While many of the political missteps today stem from Odinga’s political peers, it is disheartening to witness the absence of alternative voices.

Despite the rise of digital activism, Kenya’s youth remain leaderless--a condition that signals impending failure. 

Scholars in contemporary political theory, such as Brian Fong, argue that leaderless-ness is a myth. 

Case studies like the Hong Kong protests demonstrate that unstructured forces lacking coordination and authority cannot sustain societal leadership or governance.

Raila Odinga may well have been Kenya’s most consequential political leader--without who, the opposition and its unquestionable role in providing accountability become a myth. 

Plato, in ‘The Republic’, warned that societies are prone to chaos without formidable leadership--perhaps a reality mirrored in Kenya before Odinga intervened as a third force during the Gen-Z protests.

President William Ruto repeatedly acknowledged that “Raila Odinga came through for me when I needed him the most”.

Today, we find ourselves surrounded by politicians, yet devoid of true leaders.

The nation’s politics seem soulless. Our political figures are driven by self-preservation and cynicism. We have office bearers whose voices are loud but hollow. We lack leaders with souls, solutions with depth, and nation-builders with a moral compass. 

We lack statesmen like Raila Odinga.

A few measures could suppress the growing angst in Kenya’s post-Odinga political era.

Aspiring opposition leaders must institutionalize political parties to inspire genuine leadership.

Replacing Raila’s charisma with an organised opposition would have been a viable path forward--one that would have inspired confidence and the promise of Canaan among mourners in the Republic, thankless beneficiaries of Odinga, and orphans in ODM.

Though politicians like Suna East MP Junet Mohamed said "we are in no way, Baba’s political orphans. 

Had ODM been properly institutionalised, Odinga’s ideals might have endured beyond his grave--with minimal infighting over trivial matters, such as whether the party should field a candidate in the 2027 presidential elections.

We acknowledge that leaderless movements often begin in disarray.

Truth be told, the leaderless can get quite ugly. But they must now evolve into the bold and the beautiful.

Young people must rise to the occasion and walk in Raila Odinga’s path. Emerging leaders must step forward to be counted--and in doing so, banish the cynicism and self-centeredness that plague the current political class. In the spirit of the Gen-Z movement, they must wield their newfound superpowers--social media and other tools--to inform, educate, tell stories, and anchor values like social justice, even if in the name of the departed.

Finally, power must be devolved, as Raila Odinga championed in his push to a new constitutional dispensation. Leaders must rise from wards--because they come from wards.

Local leaders must be held accountable, even impeached, to send a message to national leaders: corruption and moral decay will not be defended by high-powered lawyers.

Civil society, religious institutions, and non-governmental organisations must act as incubators of alternative leadership and instruments of oversight—always.

Long Live the Crown!

Avwonda Olunde is a Kenyan thinker and writer focused on African economics, politics and society.