Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has paid a deeply emotional tribute to former prime minister Hon Raila Amolo Odinga, terming him a strong Kenyan president who won but was never declared.
Speaking from London, where he had just landed for a 10-day official programme, Kalonzo referring him as Champion of Kenya’s Second Liberation, expressed shock upon receiving the news of Odinga’s death, describing it as devastating.
The two political heavyweights in 2022 shared a decades-long camaraderie, forged through shared political struggles in their joint bids for the presidency.
“To me, Raila was not just a political ally but a brother He was a force of nature revered by his supporters he was respected even by his fiercest rivals and scarred in body and spirit from the long fight for democracy.” said Kalonzo in a statement .
In his tribute, Kalonzo reminisced about Odinga’s enduring legacy from his days as Kenya’s longest-serving political detainee to his pivotal role in the 2010 constitutional reforms that dismantled the imperial presidency and gave birth to Kenya’s devolved system of governance.
He reflected the special bond they shared, having run together on joint tickets in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections under the CORD and NASA coalitions and again under the Azimio La Umoja – One Kenya movement in 2022.
“To Mama Ida, and the entire Odinga family Rosemary, Raila Junior, Winnie I want you to know that my family and I stand with you. Kenya stands with you,” Kalonzo wiper leader .
Calling off his engagements in the UK to return home, Kalonzo concluded with a moving farewell:
“I will miss my brother and friend dearly. May God rest the soul of Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga in everlasting peace.”he added.
The death of Raila Odinga, one of Africa’s most iconic pro-democracy leaders, has plunged the nation into mourning, as tributes continue to pour in from across the political divide and beyond Kenya’s borders.
