NAIROBI, – Kenya has once again witnessed a political truce between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga, a pattern that has defined the country’s politics for decades. While some celebrate this handshake as a move toward national unity, it raises fundamental questions about democracy, governance, and the role of the opposition in keeping the government accountable. Are we trapped in a vicious cycle where elections serve no real purpose beyond determining who will eventually shake hands and share power?
Political handshakes in Kenya are nothing new. In 2008, following the disputed 2007 general elections, President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga entered a power-sharing agreement brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. This led to the formation of the Grand Coalition Government, where Raila became Prime Minister. The handshake was hailed as a necessary solution to the post-election violence, but it also set a precedent: bitterly contested elections followed by negotiations that bring the opposition into government.
A decade later, in 2018, Raila shook hands with then-President Uhuru Kenyatta, abandoning his role as a government critic and aligning himself with the very system he had opposed. Now, history repeats itself, leaving Kenyans wondering whether elections still have any meaning.
This trend is dangerous for Kenya’s democracy. Article 38 of the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to free and fair elections, political participation, and representation. However, when opposition leaders consistently merge with the ruling party, voters are left without an alternative voice to challenge government excesses. What we end up with is not democracy but an elaborate political theatre where leaders pretend to disagree, only to later unite for their own convenience.
This contradicts Article 10, which outlines the national values and principles of governance, including democracy, participation of the people, integrity, transparency, and accountability, values that are eroded when opposition politics becomes a mere stepping stone to power-sharing.
Kenya’s governance increasingly resembles a revolving door where political figures recycle themselves in different roles, but little progress is made on systemic challenges. Corruption remains deeply entrenched, with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) continuously revealing grand corruption scandals, yet no real political will exists to eliminate them.
Policy instability is another major issue, each handshake or government reshuffle shifts policy directions unpredictably, affecting businesses, investors, and economic growth. Further, public trust in governance is eroding as citizens realize their votes do not translate into meaningful change, leading to declining voter turnout.
One of the most concerning aspects of political handshakes is the violation of the principles enshrined in the 2010 Constitution. Kenya was designed as a pure presidential system, where the President is directly elected and holds executive authority under Article 1(3). However, handshake deals and backdoor negotiations create a quasi-parliamentary system that contradicts this structure.
The 2008 power-sharing agreement introduced the Office of the Prime Minister, leading to governance confusion, overlapping authority, and inefficiencies. Kenya risks repeating these governance failures, further weakening its institutions.
Beyond governance, political handshakes have also led to human rights violations, as victims of electoral violence, police brutality, and economic mismanagement are often forgotten in the rush to secure political alliances. Kenya is a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), particularly Articles 5, 7, and 13, which guarantee dignity, access to justice, and participation in public affairs. However, these principles are routinely violated when political leaders prioritize power-sharing over accountability.
The absence of a strong opposition leads to unchecked power, weakening Parliament’s ability to hold the Executive accountable. Article 94 guarantees Parliament’s independence, yet when opposition leaders join government through handshake deals, they blur the separation of powers and make Parliament an extension of the Executive. The result is a lack of oversight, paving the way for poor governance and impunity.
For Kenya’s democracy to mature, we must break this cycle of political mediocrity. Institutionalizing opposition is crucial, amending the Political Parties Act to prevent opposition parties receiving public funding from merging with the ruling party within an electoral cycle would be a step in the right direction.
Electoral reforms should also be prioritized, including restructuring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to restore public confidence in elections and implementing strict regulations against post-election coalitions that betray the will of voters. Civil society and the media must also play a stronger role in holding leaders accountable and ensuring transparency in governance.
The Ruto-Raila handshake is just the latest installment in a long history of political betrayals that have turned Kenya’s democracy into a farce. If elections are merely a pathway to political compromise, what is their purpose? A government without an opposition is a dictatorship in disguise, and until Kenyans demand better, we will remain trapped in a cycle of elections that change nothing and handshakes that serve only the political elite.
Beatrice Monari is a Programme Consultant at the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya). This article was first published on the Daily Nation.
