Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Raila Odinga confessed to having employed engineering tactics in order to force former President Mwai Kibaki to cede some ground during the 2008 negotiations.
This was after the total breakdown in negotiation dealings held at Serena Hotel Nairobi between their two camps following the disputed elections of 2007.
"I was thinking in engineering terms. When you want to change the physical quality of metal, you must first heat it until it's red hot, then immerse it in a cold solution for rush cooling," an excerpt from his autobiography, Flames of Freedom revealed.
The chief mediator, Koffi Annan, had called the two principals for an emergency meeting after the joint Serena talks collapsed.
Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete were the only two outsiders granted access to the meeting that was held at the Office of the President along Harambee Avenue.
When Raila was granted audience to speak, he quickly went about making statements that gradually angered Kibaki right until he reached his boiling point and started shouting at everyone.
"I had won in six provinces out of eight, Kibaki had won more votes than me in only one. My party secured 99 seats in parliament while he had only 43! Which such statistics how could I have lost?" the ODM party leader remarked.
Kibaki was incensed by the accusations and it took the joint efforts of Mkapa and Kikwete to bring him back to a calm state.
However, Raila kept stoking the fire, claiming that he was not prepared to sit there and entertain arrogant tales of impunity from someone who had allegedly stolen an election.
Once again, the other leaders stepped in to cool things down while emphasising the need to reach an agreement regarding the role of the Prime Minister, the very clause within the proposed power-sharing deal that had caused the collapse of the Serena talks.
Kibaki's team had been adamant on their refusal to wither down the presidential powers in order to accomodate an equally powerful Prime Minister.
However, Raila's engineering tactic worked a treat, as Kibaki eventually capitulated and called in Attorney General Amos Wako to finalise the Accord, even refusing to consult with his team before signing the agreement.
The 10th parliament reopened three days later on March 6, 2008, and Kibaki urged members to move quickly on legislation to implement the power-sharing agreement.
