On March 9, 2018, President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga held an impromptu public embrace on the steps of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Nairobi, an act later termed "the handshake." The gesture symbolized a reconciliation between the two leaders and marked a turning point in post-2007 politics. The handshake followed months of heightened tension over the disputed 2017 election, the Supreme Court annulment, the rerun, and the boycott. Elite actors recognized that continued political confrontation was destabilizing and that some form of accommodation was preferable. The handshake represented that recognition and triggered a new phase of elite consensus-building aimed at constitutional reform.
The background to the handshake involved behind-the-scenes negotiations facilitated by religious leaders and elder statespeople. Uhuru and Raila, both recognizing the costs of political tension (economic slowdown, investor flight, sporadic violence), began discussions on potential areas of agreement. The negotiations were secretive; the handshake itself was a public statement of a private deal whose terms were not fully disclosed. Observers speculated that the deal included commitments to: (1) end political confrontation and opposition street protests, (2) pursue constitutional reform addressing longstanding grievances, (3) eventually create a position(s) for Raila in future governance, and (4) address issues of land, devolution, and ethnic representation. The exact terms were never officially confirmed.
The handshake immediately reduced political tension. Raila called off planned opposition street protests and demonstrations. Uhuru signaled willingness to engage on constitutional reform. The relationship between the two leaders, which had been adversarial (at least publicly), shifted toward cooperation. Political analysts noted that the handshake had averted what could have been renewed violence; the March-May 2018 period had been identified as high-risk for potential renewed ethnic clashes. The handshake thus represented a form of elite conflict resolution that prevented mass-level violence.
The handshake led to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a proposed set of constitutional amendments aimed at addressing grievances around devolution, land, representation, and governance structure. The BBI proposed the creation of additional executive positions (a Prime Minister and two Deputy Premiers), institutional reforms to enhance inclusivity, and mechanisms to ensure opposition representation in governance. The BBI document was prepared over 2018-2019 and was presented to the public with the narrative that it represented a response to 2007-08 lessons and would prevent future violence by ensuring that political power was shared rather than winner-takes-all.
However, the BBI became controversial. Critics argued that the proposed constitutional changes would increase political positions, raise the cost of government, and would primarily benefit Uhuru and Raila personally rather than addressing structural causes of violence. The BBI was challenged in court; in March 2022, the Supreme Court struck down the BBI, ruling that the referendum process had been flawed and that the proposed amendments violated constitutional procedures. The BBI's defeat meant that the constitutional reform agenda signaled by the handshake was not realized.
Yet the handshake's impact persisted in tempering political confrontation. The elite settlement that it represented continued through 2022, reducing electoral violence in the 2022 election cycle despite the presidential race being competitive. By 2026, the handshake was viewed as a successful (if temporary) mechanism for preventing renewed violence by allowing elite accommodation and power-sharing negotiation. However, the failure of the BBI meant that the structural reforms that might have permanently altered Kenya's political dynamics were not implemented, leaving unresolved the underlying tensions that had driven 2007-08 violence.
See Also
2017 Election Echo 2022 Election Echo Devolution as Response Grand Coalition Unfinished Business 2026
Sources
- International Crisis Group. "Kenya: The March 2018 Handshake and Its Aftermath." Africa Report No. 257, April 2018. Available at https://www.crisisgroup.org/
- Constitution of Kenya Review Commission. "Building Bridges Initiative Final Document." Nairobi, 2019. Available at https://www.kenyalaw.org/
- Kenya Supreme Court. "Judgment on the Building Bridges Initiative Referendum." Nairobi, March 2022. Available at https://www.supremecourt.go.ke/