Battle for ODM and health; tracing Raila's last days

On Wednesday morning, as Kenyans got ready for work, tragic news hit their screens; former Prime Minister Raila Odinga had died in an Indian hospital while undergoing treatment.

For the past few weeks, Odinga had been receiving treatment at Ayurvedic eye hospital in Southern India. The 80-year-old statesman is said to have lost the battle after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest during a morning walk on the serene campus of the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Koothattukulam, Kerala. Despite efforts to revive him at Devamatha Hospitall where he had been rushed to, he was pronounced dead at 9:52 a.m. Raila was in the company of his daughter, whose vision had previously been restored at the same facility, as well as his personal doctor.

Indian police said his body remains at the hospital. Odinga’s family including his wife Ida Odinga alongside Kenyan government officials are in India where they have already initiated repatriation process of the body back to Kenya.

According to Indian news outlet, Mathrubhumi, a police officer said that information regarding Odinga’s death had been conveyed to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for necessary procedures as per protocol.

As news of his passing spread rapidly, first as rumours, then confirmed by family sources, Kenya’s political landscape was thrown into grief.

Rumours of his passing started at around 8am before they gained traction after sources close to State House intimated that Oburu Oginga had been called for a meeting to the State House. An hour later, The Standard independently confirmed from family sources that Raila had indeed passed on. Two hours later, just before noon, President William Ruto’s convoy snaked to Odinga’s Karen home. And shortly after, Ruto addressed the nation to confirm the tragic loss and declare seven days of national mourning.

On October 3, Odinga, had left the country quietly aboard a private jet, seeking what insiders described as “rest and medical attention” after a period of fatigue. 

The veteran politician is said to have been ‘feeling tired and needed to rest for a while,’ a source close to the family revealed. Since then, speculation about Odinga’s health intensified, painting a grim picture.

Odinga’s decision to seek treatment in India stemmed from an incident in 2021 when his 47-year-old daughter Rosemary Odinga gained sight after treatment at Ayurvedic eye hospital-cum-research centre.

For the past one month, Odinga had cut down public appearances and missed several key political events.

Early in the month, the elderly statesman failed to show up in Kisii for the ODM’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Held at Gusii Stadium, Odinga’s absence fueled questions about his health since the region had for years steadily backed his political ambitions. More speculations came up when ODM rescheduled its 20th anniversary grand celebrations in Mombasa, shifting the event from October to November. On 30 September, during Dalmas Otieno’s funeral, once again, Odinga was missing. His speech was read by his elder brother Oburu Odinga, who did not give any explanation on Odinga’s whereabouts. 

Raila spent his last days trying to revive the ODM party even as he battled his own health complications that forced the party to postpone its 20th anniversary celebrations.

Paul Melly, former Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of the Standard Group remembers Odinga as a man who fought for media freedom. “He was our friend who rescued us once when we, together with the current Standard Group CEO Chaacha Mwita, were arrested and detained at CID headquarters. Odinga was a political genius and tactician who made several indelible marks across Kenya’s social and political spheres including democratisation, human rights, freedom of media and strives on constitutional development.We convey our condolences to the entire Odinga family and people of Kenya,” Melly noted.

Jimmy Kibaki, the family spokesperson of Kenya’s third President, Mwai Kibaki, says his family had a warm relationship with the Odingas’.

“Odinga was no ordinary mortal, he was a legend in his own lifetime. From the fiery political agitator of the 1980s and 1990s, to the esteemed and accomplished statesman of his latter years, Odinga’s service and contribution to this country is extraordinary and exemplary. A personality simultaneously shrouded in myth, as well as enormous charisma. Odinga’s name now joins the pantheon of the giants of post-Independence Kenya. On behalf of the entire Kibaki family, we extend our sincere and deepest condolences to Mama Ida and her family, the people of Nyanza and Siaya, and to all fellow Kenyans.”