NAIROBI, Kenya — Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has paid tribute to the late Raila Odinga, describing him as Kenya’s longest-suffering political detainee.
Mr. Musyoka released his statement on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, upon learning the “devastating news” of Mr. Odinga’s death shortly after arriving at Heathrow International Airport in London, United Kingdom, for a scheduled ten-day program.
In his heartfelt eulogy, Kalonzo Musyoka reflected on the profound impact of the former Prime Minister: “Rt Hon Odinga, fondly referred to for decades as ‘Baba’ by his ardent supporters, family and friends, and, albeit begrudging in admiration by his most-fiercest detractors, was more than an enigma. Baba was a force of nature that kept on going and going, despite and in spite of the hurdles put in front of him,” Kalonzo noted in a statement.
Musyoka highlighted the physical toll of Mr. Odinga’s fight for multiparty democracy, stating that his body “bore the scars of the slings and arrows, bullets and batons, that no man or woman should ever endure.”
He emphasized the resolute nature of Odinga’s struggle: “Yet, at each point of release from the detention cells and torture chambers, he would raise his arms up to the heavens, his fist clenched in determination; resolved that the tears and painful scars he personally suffered, would yield to democracy and freedom for his beloved Kenya. That is why we call him the Champion of the Second Political Liberation,” Kalonzo stated.
According to the Wiper leader, Mr. Odinga’s enduring physical and mental sacrifice for Kenya—a struggle well-documented both nationally and internationally—earned him the title ‘Agwambo’.
Mr. Musyoka recalled Mr. Odinga’s instrumental and integral role in shaping the nation’s governance, noting his transition from the opposition benches to the position of Prime Minister. He pointed out that Mr. Odinga was key to devolving power “from an imperial presidency to a people’s centred constitutional order,” culminating in the promulgation of Kenya’s new Constitution on August 27, 2010.
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Speaking to their close working relationship, Musyoka recalled: “Since 2013, I had the singular privilege of working very closely and passionately with my brother, twice as his running mate both in CORD and NASA, as well as his partner in the Azimio La Umoja – One Kenya Coalition,” Kalonzo recalled.
He extended his deepest sympathies to the bereaved family: “To Mama Ida, and the entire family, in particular Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winne, as much as I cannot imagine the shock and the heartbreak that you are currently going through, I want you to know that my family and I stand in solidarity with you. In this regard, I know that all Kenyans are praying for you,” he added.
Mr. Musyoka maintained that Kenya has lost an “exemplary leader, the President who won but was never declared and sworn into office.”
In a mark of respect, Mr. Musyoka disclosed that he would rearrange his schedule of engagements in the United Kingdom to honor the late leader. He concluded by emphasizing that the loss of Raila Odinga is a profound blow not just to his family and Kenya, but to the entire African continent.
