Opinion: The Unquiet Legacy of Raila Odinga

By Geofrey Mugisha

They came in their thousands, swarming the tarmac of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, a surge of raw, public grief that no state protocol could contain. The body of Raila Amolo Odinga had come home to a Kenya he helped redefine, and the people, in their fervour, breached the gates, delayed flights, and demanded a final glimpse of the man they called “Baba”—the father.

His death in a hospital in India yesterday was not just the passing of a politician. It was the silencing of a resonant, often thunderous voice that for decades narrated Kenya’s struggle with itself—its fight for democracy, its battles with autocracy, its slow, painful march toward a more pluralistic society. The global and national response has been a testament to a legacy far larger than any single election victory he never secured.

A Continent’s Tribute

The mourning began far from Kenya’s borders. In Kampala, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, a liberation-era stalwart himself, framed Odinga’s passing as a generational challenge. “Rt. Hon. Odinga has not been just a career politician. He has been a freedom fighter,” Museveni stated, consciously placing him in the lineage of his father, Jaramogi Odinga, a founding father of independent Kenya. His words carried the weight of a Pan-Africanist from an older guard, looking at a changing continent. “It is important for the young people to fill the void left by such historical fighters for Africa’s future.”

This sentiment echoed through the halls of the African Union. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission, called him “a towering figure in Kenya’s political life and a steadfast champion of democracy,” while Moussa Faki Mahamat celebrated a “fearless leader” who shaped his country’s political trajectory.

The tributes revealed how Odinga’s story had become intertwined with the post-colonial African story. From Pretoria, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded his commitment to “Africa’s peace.” From Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan spoke of a “visionary” whose influence transcended borders. Even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recalling a personal bond, called him “a towering statesman and a cherished friend of India,” a nod to Odinga’s education in the country and his lifelong affection for its culture.

The Complicated Mourning at Home

In Kenya, the grief was layered, complex, and laced with the political paradoxes that defined his 50-year career. Here was a man who was both a fixture of the political establishment and its most persistent rebel.

President William Ruto, the man Odinga had bitterly accused of stealing the 2022 presidential election, is now the one presiding over a seven-day state mourning period. He praised his former rival as “a statesman whose contribution to Kenya’s democracy, freedom and unity will never be forgotten.” The irony was not lost on any Kenyan.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose handshake with Odinga in 2018 created a stunning political realignment, recalled a journey from fierce opposition to unifying alliance. “He was a formidable opponent, but an even more invaluable ally in the cause of reconciliation,” Kenyatta said, a statement that captures the mercurial nature of Kenyan politics.

The most poignant tributes came from those who stood with him in the trenches. Kalonzo Musyoka, his longtime running mate, called him “a President who won but was never declared,” a direct reference to the disputed 2007 and 2017 elections that many of his supporters believe were rightfully his. “Raila… was a force of nature that kept going despite all the hurdles put in front of him,” Kalonzo said, giving voice to a deep-seated sense of historical injustice felt by millions.

Even Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, a frequent political foe, offered a moment of unity, branding Odinga “the father of Kenya’s democracy” and “the lion of Africa.”

The Unquiet Legacy

To understand the crowds storming the airport, one must understand what Raila Odinga represented. He was jailed and detained for years under the Daniel arap Moi regime for his pro-democracy activism. He was a key architect of the multi-party system that ended Kenya’s one-party state. He was a central force behind the 2010 constitution, which devolved power and entrenched a new Bill of Rights.

He ran for president five times and never won, a fact that to his supporters marks him as a martyr of a flawed system, and to his detractors, proof that he could never secure a majority. He was a figure of immense contradiction: a wealthy businessman who championed the poor, a political insider who fashioned himself as the ultimate outsider.

Now, as his body lies in state and Kenya prepares for a funeral that will command the attention of the continent, the question Museveni implicitly asked hangs in the air: who fills this void?

The legacy of Raila Odinga is not a settled history but a living, breathing challenge. It is a challenge to autocracy, to complacency, and to the notion that power is the only measure of a political life. The crowds on the tarmac, the breached gates, the relocation of his public viewing to a stadium—this is not merely mourning. It is the tumultuous, unscripted, and powerful final act for a man who was, above all else, a movement. And movements are far harder to bury than men.

Geofrey Mugisha is a Youth Leader in Kampala, Uganda.