Editor's Review

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga released on Wednesday 7th July on his vision for Kenya drawing interesting reactions from Kenya.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday 7th July 2021 released a statement on his vision for Kenya. The statement ignited an early morning debate among netizens. 

Dubbed, Kenya Going Forward #WhatRailaBelieves, the statement Raila featured a 15 point statement where he laid down his vision for the country.

"I imagine a country in which we begin with a firm foundation for the rule of law, resing on efficient government structure that can withstand all pressures," stated the first point.


Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta/ Photo courtesy

The statement goes ahead to tell of Raila's dream for a stable county where there is a continuous fight against corruption with the end result making Kenya Africa's leading financial hub.


The statement by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga/ Twitter

The statement sparked a flurry of reactions from the Kenyan online community.

Opinions were split down the middle with some expressing support for Raila while others chastised him.


Nguka Ojwang' thought Raila's statement was beautiful written and realistic in the possibility of the vision being implemented saying it would need a great deal of honesty and introspection.


Kenyan expressed the belief that Raila's dream could be a reality while others asked him to include key sectors which missed out on his vision.


Raila's alliance with President Uhuru Kenyatta caused some users to doubt his sincerity on the purported dream he has for the country.

Other users called on Raila to drop the push for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and instead focus on the action points as listed in his statement.



Kenyans called on Raila to include in his statement how he would reduce foreign debt while another user called Raila out on his apparent hypocrisy.

From the reactions, Raila's statement has been interpreted almost as a manifesto on what his government would do if elected to office in 2022.

His alliance with President Uhuru Kenyatta is clearly hurting Raila's reputation with Kenyans on social media asking him why could not implement the same goals under the terms of his handshake deal with the Head of State.