In Kenya, general elections are slated for August 9, 2022. The elections date is not determined randomly.  The Constitution of Kenya requires that a general election of members of parliament be held on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year. 

Voters will be expected to elect the President, members of the National Assembly and Senate, County Governors and members of the 47 County Assemblies.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is ineligible for a third term due to the two-term limit set in the Constitution. He has served since 2013, when he was sworn in as the fourth President of Kenya, succeeding Mwai Kibaki.

He is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president who took over from British colonialists when Kenya attained independence.

With political campaigns now in full gear, the known presidential candidates so far, are former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, and current Deputy President, William Ruto. The president and his deputy are now believed to have divorced their Jubilee party political alliance, as Ruto joined a new political camp, The United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

It is common practice that during an election year, old political alliances break up while new ones are formed and “political nomadism” is the order of the day, as politicians position themselves where they expect to reap maximum befits.

It is almost impossible for a single political party to win elections as most of them are tribal affiliated.   Political alliances therefore, are the norm in Kenya’s politics. Currently, the political alignment is still going on.

On February 2, four political parties formed a new alliance known as One Kenya Alliance (OKA). It comprises the Wiper Democratic Movement led by Kalonzo Musyoka, Kenya Africa National Union (KANU), led by Gideon Moi, the National Rainbow Coalition–Kenya (NARC–Kenya), led by Martha Karua, and United Democratic Party led by Cyrus Jirongo.

This coalition is yet to declare if it will field a presidential candidate. Whether OKA fields a candidate or not, Odinga and Ruto still remain the most popular politicians this year.

Who is Raila Amolo Odinga?

Raila Amolo Odinga was born January 7, 1945 at Maseno, Nyanza Province, in Western Kenya.

He is a businessman and politician who has been in Kenya’s politics for decades. He is the leader of the Orange Democratic Party (ODM). Odinga served as the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013,  following the contentious presidential elections of December 2007. He was a Member of Parliament for Langata from 1992 t0 2007. He is the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the first vice president of independent Kenya.

In the 1970s and 1980s Raila Odinga was a political activist who supported government reforms in Kenya. In 1982 he was accused of plotting against then President, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, and was imprisoned without trial, for six years. After his release, he was twice arrested again for campaigning against one-party rule, and in 1991 he sought refuge in Norway. In 2001, he joined the Moi cabinet as energy minister.

Raila fondly referred to as "Baba" ("daddy" in Kiswahili) -- remains hugely popular despite losing four shots at the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017. This is the fifth time that he is attempting to be the President of Kenya.

Who is Dr William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto?

Dr William Ruto was born on December 21, 1966, at Kamagut, a Sub location in Uasin Gishu County, in the Rift Valley Province.  Ruto, the deputy president of Kenya as of 2020, is arguably Kamagut's most famous son.

He is currently, the Deputy President of Kenya, a position he has held since 2013.  He was appointed to the position of Assistant Minister in the Office of the President by President Moi in 1998.

Moi is believed to be Ruto’s political  mentor who picked him to lead a youth lobby group known as Youth for KANU 92(YK’92), which was formed to drum up support for Moi in the 1992 elections. 

The youth group is said to have dished out billions of shillings in the campaigns, and Ruto who served as the treasurer is said to have accumulated some wealth from this period. Ruto is one of the richest politicians in Kenya who rose from a humble background.

Ruto also served as the Secretary General of the Kenya Africa National Union (KANU), and MP for Eldoret North Constituency between December 1997 and January 2013.

He again served in various ministerial positions, including the Ministries of Home Affairs, Agriculture, and Higher Education Science and Technology.

Unlike in other African countries where even before campaigns, the winner can be predicted, in Kenya it is not easy to do so. The final alignment of political parties’ coalitions may stretch on until close to election time. For now, assuming that everything remains constant, one can easily predict that the next President of Kenya will either be Odinga or Ruto.

However, the seemingly two horse race is expected to be highly contested. As these two political insiders eye statehouse, Kenyans hope they have peace and that the chaos and bloodshed that marked previous elections does not repeat.