Using words to recollect memories of the Kibaki he knew during his political career, Raila Odinga eulogised former President Mwai Kibaki with bits of bitter and sweet political happenings most of which made news headlines in the Kibaki era.
Raila recalled how a spontaneous “Kibaki Tosha” moment would elevate Kibaki and leave him, a renowned kingmaker shelving his presidential ambition in a bid to remove Moi from the helm of power.
“In 2002 I decided to take the debate to the people having seen what had happened the previous year.
In my view Mwai Kibaki had the knowledge and the experience that we needed in that transition,” said Raila Odinga.
From the famous accident that had President Kibaki sworn in in a wheelchair to the bad blood between the two over a failed 2002 MoU, Raila re-lived the memories of a political guru who defended him in Parliament over the years.
“President Mwai Kibaki as a transformative leader, one who had clear foresight, a negotiator, a team player and one who was ready to take in new progressive ideas,“ said Raila.
For a man who took part in shaping the democratic system of the country, Raila took time to pay his last respects, saying he will remember Mzee Kibaki not just as an academic giant, but as a great source of inspiration to him and his family.
Deputy President William Ruto also in attendance eulogised President Kibaki as a great economist.
Ruto related President Kibaki’s way of handling economic issues to the bottoms up approach championed by his Kenya Kwanza coalition.
“If there is a demonstration of bottom-up we can learn from President Mwai Kibaki – he was father of modern-day Kenya, planted the seeds of what has become the greatest transformation of our infrastructure,“ said DP William Ruto.
Ruto called for a peaceful election in honour of President Kibaki who will go down in history as the first president in the country to have a handshake.
The handshake between him and former premier Raila Odinga over a disputed 2007 general election saw at least 1,400 people dead and thousand others displaced.
“Let us make sure that the election will be peaceful and that it will not be necessary to have a handshake, we owe it to President Mwai Kibaki as we send him off,“ said DP William Ruto.
The political undertone in Kibaki’s burial were highly regulated following the wish of the late president.
Kibaki goes down in history as a political giant who wanted a politics free send off!