The Indelible Legacy of a Kenyan Political Enigma
Raila Amolo Odinga in Memoriam
Wanjala S. Nasong'o, Rhodes College, Tennessee
Kefa M. Otiso, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
Imali J. Abala, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio
October 31, 2025
BACKGROUND
The passing of Raila Amolo Odinga on October 15, 2025, according to official reports, led to an outpouring of emotions among Kenyans from all walks of life. The announcement of Raila's death brought the country to a standstill in an act of collective sorrow and mourning. Raila Amolo Odinga was no ordinary Kenyan. He was an astute political actor, a political mobilizer of unrivaled abilities, a committed advocate for democracy, and a strategic politician of rare qualities. His pro-reform activism during the single-party era under President Daniel arap Moi saw him detained for a total of nine years – 1982-88 and 1989-91 (see Hornsby, 2013; Nasong'o, 2024). Facing constant surveillance and political harassment after his release from detention in 1991, Raila fled to exile in Norway where he remained until 1992 (Anyidoho, 1997; The Citizen, October 19, 2025). Because of Raila's more than four decades of selfless contribution to political reform in Kenya and to the politics of the country, he received multiple endearing noms de guerre including Agwambo (Enigma), Jakom (Chairman), Jowi (Buffalo), and Tinga (Bulldozer) (see Badejo, 2006; People Daily, Nairobi, October 15, 2025). At the height of his political career, Raila came to be known, both to friend and foe, simply as Baba (Father)! He was, indeed, the father of Kenya's second liberation, a "father" to the downtrodden, a political institution unto himself, and a political mentor to many a Kenyan politician.
Whereas he had many admirers and fervent supporters, Raila Amolo Odinga had a legion of his detractors as well. Back in 2002, the late Vice President Michael Kijana Wamalwa described Raila Odinga as a two-faced coin who was intensely loved and hated in equal measure. It was this two-faced reality that the late Wamalwa described as Raila mania and Raila phobia. Raila himself acknowledged this in 2017 when he noted that his diehard supporters went through a lot of pain compared to those who hated him for no good reason (see Amuke, 2022; Kinyua, 2017). Those who exhibited Raila phobia went so far as calling him Mganga (Witchdoctor) or Mchawi (Witch) (People Daily, Nairobi, October 15, 2025). Despite all this, it is beyond debate that Raila Amolo Odinga was a political actor with a phenomenal impact on the Kenyan political terrain. Indeed, his many controversial defeats in Kenya's presidential elections heightened, rather than dimmed, his political popularity to such an extent that he was famously sworn in as the People's President soon after the 2017 presidential election results were announced. As Chebii Kiprono, a Kenyan historian, told the BBC following Raila's passing, "Raila belonged to that rare class of political personalities who transcend the ordinary calculus of power and ambition. Like Mandela, he carried the burden of a people's hopes" (Muia and Nyoka, 2025).
Now that this enigmatic political phenomenon in the name of Raila Amolo Odinga has eternally left our landscape, political and otherwise, how are we to remember him? What can we make of his political legacy, nationally, regionally, and internationally? How will his absence impact the Kenyan political landscape going forward? Are we to remain hopeful, as the popular saying goes, that political leaders of Raila Odinga's ilk never really die, that their spirits live on in the struggles they led and the victories they inspired? What is irrefutable is that the Kenyan political landscape is fundamentally changed by the departure of Raila Amolo Odinga.
OBJECTIVE
This proposed book aims to address the above questions with a view to exploring, examining, and documenting the political life and democratic legacy of Raila Amolo Odinga, one of, if not the most consequential political actors in Kenya. Among the themes to be covered include, though not limited to Raila Amolo Odinga's role in, impact, influence, and legacy on the following:
1. The Politics of Democratization in Kenya
2. The Paradoxes of Detention and Exile
3. Political Movement Animation and Deployment
4. The Making of a Revolutionary
5. The People's President and Mobilizer
6. Party Politics and Coalition Dynamics
7. Presidential Electoral Politics
8. Ethnicity and Politics in Kenya
9. East African Regional Politics
10. Pan-Africanism and the African Union
11. International Politics and Diplomacy
12. Private and Corporate Business
13. Raila's Impact on and Representation in the Media
14. Raila Amolo Odinga: The Cultural Icon
15. Any Other Relevant Theme
CALL FOR CHAPTER ABSTRACTS
We invite interested scholars to submit 300-word chapter abstracts addressing the themes outlined above, as well as related topics, for inclusion in an upcoming edited volume commemorating the legacy and impact of Raila Odinga.
Submission Guidelines
- Abstract Deadline: December 15, 2025
- Format: Word document attachment
- Submission Email:
- Primary: nasongos@rhodes.edu
- CC: kmotiso@bgsu.edu, abalai@ohiodominican.edu
Important Dates
- Notification of Acceptance: January 15, 2026
- Full Chapter Submission Deadline: May 15, 2026
- Editorial Review and Revisions: June–August 2026
- Final Manuscript Submission to Publisher: September 2026
- Expected Publication Date: October 2026 (to coincide with the first anniversary of Raila Odinga's passing)
Accepted contributors will be expected to submit completed book chapters by May 15, 2026. The volume will be submitted to the publisher with the goal of releasing it in time for the first anniversary of Raila's passing.
We welcome contributions from diverse disciplinary perspectives and encourage original, critical, and reflective scholarship that engages with Raila Odinga's life, political legacy, and broader socio-political impact.
REFERENCES
Submission Procedure
Full Chapters deadline : 15th August 2020
Full Chapter decision : 25th August 2020
Revisions Due : 31st August 2020
Projected publication date : December 2020
The authors should submit their abstract
not be exceeding 250 words. It must be
informative and explain background, aims,
methods, results and conclusion. Abstract
must be followed by keywords, subject to
maximum five
Amuke, Isaac Otidi. "Raila Odinga's Grand Finale." Debunk Media, Nairobi, August 6, 2022: https://issue.debunk.media/raila-odingas-grand-finale/. Accessed October 27, 2025.
Anyidoho, Kofi. The Word Behind Bars and the Paradox of Exile. Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 1997.
Badejo, Babafemi. Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics. Lagos: Yintab Books, 2006.
Hornsby, Charles. Kenya: A History Since Independence. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
Kinyua, Nesh. "Raila-mania Suffer Most than Raila-phobia." The Standard, Nairobi, July 29, 2017: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/ureport/article/2001249603/raila-mania-suffer-most-than-raila-phobia. Accessed October 26, 2025.
Muia, Wycliffe and Nyoka, Shingai. "Kenya at Crossroads as Nation Reels from Odinga's Death." BBC, Nairobi, October 21, 2025: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzp6ewnqno. Accessed October 27, 2025.
Nasong'o, Wanjala S. Kenya and the Politics of a Postcolony. London: Anthem Press, 2024.
Nasong'o, Wanjala S. "Kenya at Fifty and the Betrayal of Nationalism: The Paradoxes of Two Family Dynasties." In M.M. Kithinji, M.M. Koster, and J.P. Rotich, eds. Kenya After 50: Reconfiguring Historical, Political, and Policy Milestones. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, pp. 165-187.
People Daily. "The Nicknames that Defined Raila Odinga's Political Career." Nairobi, October 15, 2025: https://peopledaily.digital/insights/the-nicknames-that-defined-raila-odingas-political-career. Accessed October 27, 2025.
The Citizen. "Raila Odinga's Journey of Pain and Hope: Detention, Exile, and Betrayals that Shaped Him." Nairobi, October 19, 2025: https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/africa/raila-odinga-s-journey-of-pain-and-hope-detention-exile-and-betrayals-that-shaped-him-5236136. Accessed October 30, 2025.
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