President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. PHOTO/UGC.
By DR. SETH WETOYI ADAMS
Raila Odinga was once the embodiment of resistance; a living symbol of courage, reform, and an unwavering belief in justice.
For decades, millions of Kenyans saw in him a beacon of hope, a man who refused to bow to authoritarianism and who bore the scars of detention and defiance with pride. He stood for something greater than himself: the idea that truth, even when inconvenient, must be spoken and defended.
But today, that image is fading; and not because Kenyans have changed, but because Raila has.
In a political shift that stunned both supporters and critics, Raila has aligned himself with a regime whose hallmark is impunity. This is a government that routinely subverts the constitution, undermines institutions, and punishes dissent.
By entering into partnership with such a system, Raila has not only contradicted his legacy but betrayed the very truth he once asked us to defend.
What Raila has embraced is not a unity government; it is a bread-based government; a system obsessed with short-term appeasement and transactional politics. It distracts the hungry with handouts and half-built roads while dodging the real issues: justice, equity, and accountability.
Dr. Seth Wetoyi Adams. PHOTO/UGC.
In this new political arrangement, the once-defiant opposition leader has become part of the establishment; not to reform it, but to survive within it. The freedom fighter has become a deal-maker.
The opposition voice has become an echo. It is no longer the people’s champion who speaks, but a politician calculating his next move.
History is harsh on leaders who trade truth for convenience. Self-serving politics, no matter how cleverly disguised, is never sustainable. It may win short-term alliances and media headlines, but it always fails the test of legacy.
Kenya does not need more power brokers. We need statesmen. Leaders who can say “no” to corruption, to excess, to injustice, even when doing so is politically costly. We need voices that rise not for self-preservation, but for principle.
There is wisdom in standing for what is right, even when it’s against your own interests. That’s what integrity looks like. It’s not in grand speeches or secret handshakes with presidents, it’s in consistency. The true test of a leader is whether they can still say “no” when “yes” would be more profitable.
And that is where Raila failed us. Rather than stand away from a failing system, he became its apologist. Rather than hold the government accountable, he legitimised its worst tendencies by becoming part of its machinery.
ODM leader Raila Odinga. PHOTO/UGC.
Some will argue that Raila is playing the long game; that he still believes in truth, and that his strategy will eventually pay off. But there is a difference between serving the truth and using it to serve yourself.
When a leader begins to mould “truth” around personal ambition, it ceases to be truth. It becomes idolatry. When Raila made his version of the truth greater than the constitution, greater than justice, and even greater than the will of the people, he crossed a line that may never be fully repaired.
The tragedy is not that Raila changed, all leaders evolve. The tragedy is that he changed in the exact way he once warned us about. He chose comfort over confrontation. He chose influence over integrity. He chose to dine with the very forces he once asked us to resist.
And history will remember that, not with anger, but with sober disappointment.
Because in the end, this isn’t about bread. It’s about truth. And truth, unlike bread, cannot be shared with those who steal it.
Kenya deserves better. Kenya remembers who stood when it mattered. And Kenya will never forget those who chose silence when truth cried out the loudest.
