From detention cells to the Prime Minister’s office, Raila Amolo Odinga’s life was a saga of struggle, sacrifice, and unyielding courage. As Kenya mourns its most influential opposition leader-turned-statesman, his story stands as the defining chronicle of a man who fought for justice, unity, and democracy until his final breath.
For more than five decades, Raila Amolo Odinga stood at the center of Kenya’s political heartbeat — defiant, resilient, and unwavering in his pursuit of justice and democracy. His journey from the dungeons of detention to the corridors of power defined not only his life but also the story of a nation’s struggle for freedom and inclusion.
Born on January 7, 1945, in Maseno, Kisumu County, Raila was destined to walk a path shaped by politics. As the son of Kenya’s first Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, his childhood was intertwined with the early promise and turbulence of independent Kenya. Yet his legacy would come not from inheritance, but from endurance.
Educated in East Africa and later in East Germany, Raila returned home as an engineer — a man of science entering a world of politics. His early years were marked by quiet service, but it was the dark years of the 1980s that transformed him into a national symbol of resistance. Accused of involvement in the 1982 coup attempt against President Daniel arap Moi, Raila was detained without trial for nearly nine years.
When he emerged, he carried scars but also an unbroken conviction. He became one of the fiercest voices against one-party rule, joining hands with other pro-democracy crusaders such as Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, and Gitobu Imanyara to demand multiparty democracy. His defiance inspired fear in his opponents and loyalty among his supporters — a generation that would forever see him as Baba, the father of their political awakening.
Politics
With the return of multiparty politics in the early 1990s, Raila joined his father in founding the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD). But ideological and generational rifts soon split the movement, pushing Raila to form his own political outfit — a pattern that would repeat throughout his career as he built and rebuilt coalitions to match shifting political tides.
By the 2000s, Raila had become a political powerhouse — fiery in rhetoric, strategic in alliance-building, and unrelenting in pursuit of reform. As Minister for Roads and later Energy, he demonstrated administrative capability, but his most defining political moment came in 2002. In a rare act of political sacrifice, Raila shelved his presidential ambition to back Mwai Kibaki under the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), uniting a fragmented opposition to end KANU’s 39-year rule. His famous rallying cry “Kibaki Tosha!” would forever be etched in Kenya’s political folklore.
Yet his relationship with power was always complicated. The disputed 2007 election plunged Kenya into its darkest chapter, triggering post-election violence that claimed over 1,000 lives. In the painful aftermath, Raila agreed to a power-sharing deal with President Kibaki, becoming the country’s second Prime Minister. Though the Grand Coalition Government was uneasy, it delivered one of the most progressive constitutions in Africa — a testament to Raila’s enduring influence.
Over the years, he would contest four times for the presidency — in 1997, 2007, 2013, and 2017 — each time galvanising millions, each time claiming victory, and each time facing defeat under controversial circumstances. To his followers, he embodied the stolen dream; to his critics, he was the eternal oppositionist who could never accept loss. But to all, he remained a towering figure who shaped Kenya’s democratic journey.
In 2018, after months of post-election tension, Raila shocked the world by shaking hands with his long-time rival, President Uhuru Kenyatta. The “Handshake” ended months of street protests and ushered in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) — an ambitious, if divisive, attempt to reform Kenya’s governance system. While BBI did not survive the courts, it changed the tone of national politics, signaling Raila’s evolution from agitator to statesman.
Even after the 2022 general election, where he narrowly lost to William Ruto, Raila remained the moral center of Kenya’s political conscience. He questioned electoral integrity, led peaceful protests, and championed the rights of ordinary Kenyans. Yet beneath the fiery rhetoric, there was a growing recognition that time — and history — had already sealed his place.
Broad-based
In a surprising turn in 2024, Raila reconciled with President Ruto, uniting former adversaries around national stability and regional leadership. The two men, once bitter rivals, found common ground in the pursuit of economic reforms and Kenya’s place in global diplomacy. Their partnership marked the end of one of the most intense political rivalries in modern Kenya and the beginning of a cautious friendship built on mutual respect.
[President William Ruto and the First Lady Rachael Ruto pay tributes to Former Prime Minister the late Raila Odinga at Parliament buildings in Nairobi. Photo/PCU/October, 17, 2025].
It was a fitting final chapter for a man who had given everything to his country. In death, President Ruto described him as “the father of Kenya’s democracy” — a man who had worked with every generation of leaders, challenged every administration, and left behind a blueprint for courage and conviction in public life.
Raila’s passing in Kerala, India, where he had traveled for treatment, plunged the nation into mourning. Across political divides, tributes poured in — from allies and adversaries alike — celebrating his enduring spirit and his dream of a united, prosperous Kenya.
To the young, he leaves a lesson in resilience; to the old, a reminder of how far the country has come; and to Kenya, a challenge to keep alive the flame he lit decades ago.
A Final Journey Home
As the sun dipped behind the acacia trees of Bondo, the nation held its breath. The military pallbearers, their steps measured and solemn, carried the flag-draped casket of Raila Amolo Odinga to its final resting place at Opoda Farm. 17-gun salute of farewell. Hymns filled the air as the crowd, silent yet tearful, watched the man who had carried Kenya’s dreams now being carried by his own people — home.
Former Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, President William Ruto, Deputy President, Prof. Kithure Kindiki, and other dignitaries stood alongside family members as the casket was gently lowered into the grave. The moment felt surreal — history folding upon itself. A man who had spent a lifetime fighting for Kenya’s freedom was finally free from the burden of struggle.
Wreaths of white lilies, red roses, and native flowers slowly covered the grave. Supporters, some clutching miniature flags and others portraits of “Baba,” whispered his slogans — “The struggle continues” — as if to assure themselves that his dream would not die and his legacy lives on. The chants faded into the wind, replaced by birdsong and the rustle of palm leaves swaying gently over the Odinga homestead.
In that quiet afternoon, the struggle truly turned into flowers. The defiance of a lifetime softened into peace. The man who had left home to serve Kenya and Africa had returned home to rest among his ancestors.
[The grave where Raila was laid to rest on Sunday, October, 19, 2025. The coffin bearing the remains of the late Raila Odinga was lowered in his grave at around 16:52 pm. Photo/courtesy/October, 19, 2025].
Raila Odinga’s story is no longer just the tale of a politician — it is the song of a people’s endurance, the echo of a nation’s unfinished dream. And though the grave has closed, the flame he lit still burns — in the streets he marched, the voices he inspired, and the Kenya he helped shape.
On this Mashujaa Day, the country bows not in defeat but in gratitude. For even in death, Raila Odinga remains what he always was — the relentless flame of Kenya’s democracy.
