Raila hosts Somaliland President Abdirahman Abdilahi in farewell dinner, rekindling ties
President Abdirahman described Odinga as "an esteemed statesman and one of the dearest friends of Somaliland".
Raila Odinga, Kenya's long-time opposition figure and regional power broker, hosted Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi Irro for a private farewell dinner at his Nairobi residence on Monday evening.
The meeting, a diplomatic gesture rich in symbolism, rekindled historic ties between Odinga and the breakaway region still seeking international recognition.
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President Abdirahman described Odinga as "an esteemed statesman and one of the dearest friends of Somaliland". Hargeisa officials have consistently celebrated Odinga as one of Kenya's most "prominent statesmen," underscoring the political weight he carries in Somaliland.
The optics of such an encounter have always not gone unnoticed.
While the engagement was warmly received in Hargeisa, it will likely reignite discomfort among elements of the Somali political establishment that remain steadfast in their pursuit of a unified Somalia.
This simmering disapproval surfaced pointedly in February when Mogadishu withheld its vote during Odinga's African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship bid, reportedly citing his open support for Somaliland as a key grievance.
Ironically, Odinga's influence in Hargeisa may have contributed to Mogadishu abandoning its own candidate, Somalia's ex-Foreign Minister, paving the way for the Djiboutian candidate's eventual win.
Still, the diplomatic cost for Odinga was evident. Odinga's advocacy for Somaliland is not new.
In a 2020 reception dinner for then-President Muse Bihi at Nairobi's Villa Rosa Kempinski, he remarked that "The AU needs to wake up to the reality that it is not going to be possible again to bring these two countries together and recognise them as two separate countries."
He added, "I have talked in the UN, and I have talked in the London Chatham House. I said, and I have no regret, and I will say it again, that Somaliland is a reality the world has to live with."
At the time, Odinga held the role of the African Union's High Representative for Infrastructure.
Nonetheless, his comments reverberated far beyond his official portfolio.
"Somaliland will continue to progress without depending on Somalia," he argued.
He also called for the African Union to address Somaliland's case in the same spirit it approached the Western Sahara issue with Morocco.
His relationship with Somaliland predates the current administration.
In April 2022, after a fire devastated Hargeisa's main market, Odinga tweeted: "The scenes coming out of Hargeisa's open market inferno, that is the mainstay of their economy, are gut-wrenching... You will rise again!"
Earlier, in 2013, Odinga met then-President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo in Heathrow Airport's VIP lounge.
By 2018, he was already engaging Somaliland leaders at the Investment Conference in Nairobi, initially slated to be the event's chief guest before he pulled out last minute and met the delegation privately.
This latest show of camaraderie with Somaliland underscores Odinga's enduring clout in Hargeisa but also reveals the delicate tightrope that diplomacy in the Horn of Africa demands.
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