Kenya’s Raila Odinga laid to rest beside his father

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga was on Sunday laid to rest beside his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya’s first Vice President, at the family’s home in Bondo, Siaya County.

Raila, who died on Wednesday at a hospital in India aged 80, was celebrated as one of the foremost architects of Kenya’s modern political landscape. Having unsuccessfully contested the presidency five times, he was remembered as a tireless reformist and “political engineer” who helped shape the country’s democratic evolution.

Kenya’s President William Samoei Ruto eulogized Raila as “a great hero of Kenya,” praising his immense contribution to the country’s current constitution. Ruto recalled that even while competing against him in the 2022 presidential election, he regarded Raila as his political mentor.

“You have made a huge sacrifice for our nation, a huge contribution to our nation. And I told Baba that as a person who has learned in your political school of politics, I know you have made a huge contribution to Kenya,” Ruto said.

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, a longtime friend of the Odinga family, attended the burial and recounted how he first met Raila 31 years ago during the funeral of his father, Jaramogi. He said Raila had passionate love for Kenya and for Africa.

Obasanjo also referenced the meeting he and Raila held with Ruto that led to reconciliation after Kenya’s last presidential election. Among those in attendance was Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetangula, who hailed Odinga for his role in preaching peace after the 2007 post-election violence when he joined hands with then-President Mwai Kibaki.

Former Vice President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka described Raila as a “brother in the struggle for justice and truth,” recalling his unyielding fight against corruption. His eulogy drew murmurs when he noted that Raila’s presidential ambitions were thwarted at least twice by alleged vote rigging.

“We called you Joshua, but we never got to Canaan,” said Musyoka. “There were indeed crocodiles across the River Jordan, as you used to say. You paraphrased Martin Luther King, you saw the promised land, but you never got there with us.”

Ruto, who once belonged to Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) before forming his own Kenya Kwanza alliance, pledged to uphold Raila’s legacy by protecting his party’s existence.

“Because Baba believed in strong national political parties, not tribal formations, my government will safeguard the ODM,” Ruto assured mourners.

“Political parties are the foundation of democracy, and a strong ODM means a stronger Kenya.”

Ruto also credited Odinga with recommending John Badi, the current Finance minister, whose leadership he said has stabilized Kenya’s economy.

“Baba and I decided to have John Badi as the minister of Finance. Today, inflation has come down to 4% from 9.6%. The exchange rate has come down from 165 to 129. And Kenya is the sixth largest economy in Africa,” Ruto said.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta thanked the people of Bondo for raising a son who, he said, “was sent on errands not only by Kenya but by the entire African continent.”

Uganda’s former Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, representing President Yoweri Museveni, joined hundreds of dignitaries from across Africa to pay their last respects.