Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Kenya's opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition leader Raila Odinga holds up a bible as he swears himself in on January 30, 2018, in Nairobi. Photo: Patrick Meinhardt / AFP / Getty Images
Kenyan opposition candidate Raila Odinga had himself sworn in as the “people’s president” on January 30 in the presence of thousands of supporters in downtown Nairobi's Uhuru Park and despite threats of retribution by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Shortly afterward, the administration declared Odinga’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) an “organized criminal group” open to charges of treason.
The backdrop: The current political impasse follows two disputed elections and associated judicial decisions. At the end of a convoluted process, Kenyatta, the incumbent, was declared the winner. However, Odinga and his supporters, up to half of the electorate, reject this outcome.
The dispute between Kenyatta and Odinga is both a personal feud and an ethnic one. Kenyatta is personally wealthy and is seen as the face of big businesses. As the son of Jomo Kenyatta, who led the liberation struggle against the British and became Kenya’s first president, he is also an avatar of the Kikuyu tribe. Odinga, though nearly as wealthy as Kenyatta, appeals chiefly to the poor in Nairobi's slums, as well as the Luo ethnic group and others who feel marginalized. He is the son of Oginga Odinga, who was Kenya’s (and Jomo Kenyatta’s) first vice president.
[UNSUPPORTED BLOCK TYPE: axiom]
John Campbell is the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.