NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 — Ida Odinga has reassured supporters that her brother-in-law, Oburu Oginga, is not seriously ill, saying doctors advised him to avoid a large rally commemorating the first anniversary of Raila Odinga’s death.
Ida, Raila’s widow, conveyed Oburu’s apologies to mourners, explaining that he was unwell and had been advised to rest rather than attend the gathering.
“Dr Oburu is not feeling well, but he is not very sick. He is alive. The doctors who are looking after him have said that he should go slow and not come to a loud rally like this,” she said, relaying a message he had asked her to deliver.
She was speaking as supporters gathered to honour the veteran opposition leader’s life and political legacy, one year after his death.
Ida said the past year had been particularly difficult for the family, which suffered another bereavement just 40 days after Raila’s death.
“The two losses within a period of 40 days was too much for the family,” she said, reflecting on the grief that followed the deaths.
She urged mourners to preserve the dignity of the occasion, cautioning against allowing differing intentions to overshadow the commemoration.
“Not everybody comes with the same intentions. Those who have different intentions, please just hold on so that those of us who have come to remember Baba can be able to remember him,” she said.
‘It feels like yesterday’
Ida offered a personal account of adjusting to life without her husband, whom she said she had known for more than 50 years.
She described how she sometimes left the door open in the evenings, hoping he would return home, before eventually accepting that he would not be coming back.
“Sometimes Baba used to come late in the evening. I leave the door open, hoping that he is going to come in, and the door remains open for a very long time. Then later I realise he is not coming back and I go and close the door,” she said.
She added that the family still found itself listening for his footsteps and expecting to see him in the morning.
Despite the passage of a year, Ida said the loss remained painfully fresh.
“It is very difficult for me to think that it is a year since he left because to me and to some of us, it is just like it was yesterday that he left,” she said.
She credited the support and prayers of Kenyans across the country and abroad with helping her cope with the loss.
Ida cited messages and prayers from Bondo, Nairobi, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori and other parts of Kenya, as well as from the diaspora.
“I tell them I am fine. I am strong. I am strong because of you people. You are strong for me,” she said.
Keeping Raila’s legacy alive
Ida called on supporters to sustain Raila’s ideals through institutions and initiatives established in his honour, saying his vision should outlive him.
She cited the Raila Odinga Centre for Democracy and the Raila Odinga Leadership Academy, alongside other schools and foundations being established in his name, as avenues for preserving his legacy.
“The dreams do not die with a dreamer when it is given a home,” she said.
Reflecting on Raila’s political journey, Ida recalled releasing him to the public during the Azimio la Umoja convention at Kasarani on December 10, 2021, when she asked Kenyans to support him as he pursued his political ambitions and championed their interests.