TALKING POINT
Managing Brands Post
“Handshake”
By Boniface Ngahu
The Handshake Season Is
Here ‘Resist” drive. The debate on cessation of
part of the country into two countries was
also called off.
It was in March 2018 after a long bitter
electioneering season in Kenya that
the leader of the opposition The Right
Honorable Raila Amolo Odinga of
National Super Alliance (NASA) buried
the hatchet with President Uhuru Muigai
Kenyatta of ruling Jubilee Party. This
happened after the two met in Uhuru’s
office at Harambee House where they
shook hands in front of the media and the
world. The country was now united and other
politicians and individuals followed suit
in shaking hands to make peace with
their former rivals. One of the MPs in
Nairobi musician Jaguar made peace with
another musician Prezzo in the spirit of
the handshake.
The handshake was of great significance
because it brought to an end the bitter
fight between the two opposing sides
after they agreed to work together. NASA
also called off all planed demonstrations
against the Jubilee government and
the boycott against brands that NASA
supporters had been urged to avoid in their
Raila didn’t just stop at shaking hands
with Uhuru he also visited the former
president Moi at Kabarak and later
shook hands with the immediate former
president Kibaki.
The Handshake Paradox
Initially everyone was happy about the new
unity and the handshake gesture. However
a certain part of Jubilee leadership started
developing cold feet after the Deputy
Like we demonstrated on the self-made brands
we can conclude that in marketing and politics
being authentic is going to carry a super-
premium. Depending on the past glories will
carry less weight than having an interesting
and inspiring life story. Meat consumers will
fill dingy nyama choma and drinking joints
infested with a lot of flies and disown five star or
sanitized meat joints.
18 MAL24/18 ISSUE
President Honorable William Samoei
Ruto was rumored to have been denied
access to former president Moi when he
paid a courtesy call at Kabarak.
It appeared that the handshake may have
something to do with the 2022 elections
where the deputy president is a front
runner given his current position and
the Jubilee MOU. The close allies of the
deputy president started poking holes
on the handshake, NASA politicians
also insisted that the handshake is a deal
between two individuals and not between
the parties they represent.
For the public it appeared the revolution
was over because as the saying goes, “Once
the people disperse from the streets and
go home the revolution is over”.
What is making the Jubilee politicians
uncomfortable is that Raila seems to be
positioning himself for some significant
role in future with his call for constitutional
reforms to weaken presidency and create
room for new positions to ensure the
national leadership is more inclusive than
the current winner takes all constitution.
The handshake created a peaceful
atmosphere in the country and even stock
market indices and investors’ confidence
rose. The paradox is that for the future
of political arrangements that appeared
clear before handshake is no longer as it
was before. Raila’s co-principals in NASA
Wetangula, Kalonzo and Mudavadi
expressed their dissatisfaction with Raila
for leaving them out in the handshake
deal.