Dennis Onyango: Oketch Salah was a close friend of Raila
By Mabonga Makhanu, February 17, 2026Dennis Onyango, former aide to the late Raila Odinga, has come out to defend embattled businessman Oketch Salah, confirming that everyone who worked around the late leader knew him.
Speaking during an interview with a local media station on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, Onyango defended Oketch Salah, who is currently facing attacks from some individuals claiming they never knew him. He said that the two were close companions and that Salah was a close friend of Raila.
Onyango added that during his time serving alongside Raila Odinga, Oketch Salah was always near the leader, even the day before Raila travelled to India, never to return.
He recalled that Salah had accompanied Raila and even brought him an iPhone 17. He further stated that while Raila was in India, he communicated directly with him via his phone, and sometimes through Salah’s phone, confirming their close association. Onyango clarified that while he cannot definitively tell where their friendship emanated from, he can confirm their close relationship.
“Everyone who worked around Raila knew Oketch Salah. I met him, I travelled with him, and he was Raila’s friend. Why they were friends, I don’t know,” he said.
He also noted that in the past, he had travelled with Raila Odinga alongside Salah to many destinations. On the question of whether Salah was Raila’s adopted son, Onyango suggested that this was likely figurative language used by Salah to explain their closeness.
Winnie’s attacks on Salah
She said that she had met Salah once but emphasised that nobody really knows him. Winnie described his accounts of being there at the time of Raila’s death as flat-out lies and quite dangerous, arguing that he was fabricating events and questioning his intentions.
She went further, suggesting that he should be rushed to either Mathare or the DCI with immediate effect (referring to Mathare Mental Hospital or the Directorate of Criminal Investigations).
This formed part of a broader family and ODM rejection of Salah’s self-proclaimed role as an adopted son or close confidant, with similar disavowals from others, including Raila Junior and other party figures such as Kileweshwa MCA Robert Alai. Who sided with Winnie, saying that people ought to be careful with Salah?
Salah’s defence
Salah insisted that he stands by every detail of his account. He emphasised that his relationship with Raila was genuine and mentor-like, describing Raila as a father figure who embraced and supported him.