Desire’s Edge

Raila Amolo Odinga was the main opposition candidate in the disputed 2007 presidential election. Following a post-electoral crisis that resulted in the deaths of 1,500 people and the displacement of 600,000 more, Odinga took office as Prime Minister, at the head of a national unity government, in April 2008. He has played a key role in the modern political life of Kenya. This timely biography gives an overview of politics in Kenya over the last sixty years, and traces Raila's role in them. The author is a political scientist who seeks to explain and assess Raila's political life. He covers background about the Luo, Raila's background and inheritance as the son of a prominent political leader, the one-party state by fiat, the failed coup, detention, exile & return, cooperation with KANU, the Rainbow Alliance, Kibaki's succession in 2002, Raila as a Minister. An epilogue gives verbatim extracts from many of those interviewed, including Raila himself. Babafemi Badejo is a political scientist and lawyer, a past University senior lecturer from Nigeria, and worked from Nairobi for a decade. "His achievement is to render accessible both the complex political history of Kenya and the personal story of one of the most influential and controversial actors on the contemporary Kenyan political scene. "Raila Odinga: An Enigma in Kenyan Politics" is an excellent introduction for the uninitiated to the complex landscape of Kenyan politics." - Dr. Jeremy Matam Farrall, University of Tasmania, Australia "The quest for democracy in Kenya is illuminated by this empathetic account of the travails of an intrepid politician." Richard L. Sklar, Emeritus Professor, University of California Los Angelos "Raila Odinga is a poster politician in Kenya, and, indeed, in any African country. Given the crisis of political leadership in Africa and the burning quest for alternative political leadership on the continent, Raila Odinga's biography provides an interesting case study that in part provides for for serious thought on both issues." Dr. Willy Mutunga, former Executive Director, Kenya Human Rights Commission. "I found this book very absorbing, and a sympathetic portrayal of an African post-independence leader from an African perspective. As such, I think it is of great interest." David Stephen, former Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia and later Guinea-Bissau