Kibaki made his intention clear that he would vie for the second term on 26th January 2007. As a tactical move, Kibaki took up a new political vehicle dubbed Party of National Unity (PNU) which brought together other parties such as DP, Narc-Kenya, Ford People and Shirikisho.
Kibaki, more robust and healthier than he was in the leadup to the 2002 polls, took an active role in the campaigns. The PNU campaign rode on the “kazi iendelee” slogan which sought to have Kibaki continue with his good service to the country. Much of the opinion polls showed Kibaki and Raila in a tight race in a number of regions except their home provinces and the election was thus projected to be a close election between Kibaki and Raila.
Three days after the elections, the opposition disputed the results announced by Electoral Commission of Kenya that put Kibaki on the lead. This sparked the 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis that saw violence in some parts of the country. Kibaki in his efforts to mitigate the crisis brought in Kalonzo Musyoka, leader of ODM-Kenya, into government as Vice president.
The move was interpreted as a strategy to water down the top opposition claims advanced by the Raila-led ODM party. However, the crisis continued and international mediation led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Anan led to the formation of a Grand Coalition Government where Raila Odinga was appointed as Prime Minister.
In his own words Kibaki said “ Kenyans will always prefer peace over conflict, prosperity over desolation, unity over discord and justice over injustice. That is why on February28, 2008, I and Hon Raila Odinga signed the National accord because our people had spoken clearly that they wanted one Kenya in which all lived in peace, justice and harmony.”
Despite the relationship between the two not being rosy, a number of achievements were made by the grand coalition government. In 2010, Kibaki and Raila successfully campaigned for a new constitution that was passed during a referendum and later promulgated in a nation-defining moment that was witnessed by a number of foreign heads and dignitaries.
