Oketch Salah: Out of respect for Mama Ida, I will not respond to Winnie
By Mabonga Makhanu, January 28, 2026The self-proclaimed late Raila Odinga’s adopted son, Oketch Salah, has broken his silence after the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament (MP) Winnie Odinga attacked him during an interview.
In a statement shared on his social media pages on Wednesday, January 28, 2025, the business mogul, who spent most of his time with the late former prime minister, came out to state that out of the respect he holds for Ida Odinga, the spouse of the late former prime minister Raila Odinga, who also doubles as the recently nominated Kenyan representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as ambassador, he will not offer a rebuttal but will remain mum.
“I watched last night’s interview on Citizen TV with Ivonne Okwara, where Winnie spoke about me. Because of the respect I have for Her Excellency the Ambassador, Mama Ida Min Piny from Migori, I chose to remain quiet. That was a deliberate and personal decision.”
He went ahead to state that, despite choosing to remain quiet and not responding to Winnie Odinga, some things she said about him in the interview need clarity, and he pledged to give his side of the story in an interview soon.
“However, some of what was said needs clarity. I stand by everything I have said about my last moments with Baba. Those moments were real, painful, and lived. I will respond in an interview soon.”
Winnie Odinga’s attack Salah
This comes a few moments after Winnie Odinga launched a scathing attack on Oketch Salah, dismissing his continued claims that he was beside the late Raila Odinga and that he was a close confidant.
Winnie Odinga stated that she has met Oketch but continued to assert that nobody really knows him.
Dismissing Oketch
She went on to express her disappointment with Oketch, who has continued to claim that he was beside Raila during his final moments, something she says is untrue since she was the one beside her late father.
She said that when someone like Oketch comes out to speak of things that did not happen, it is quite dangerous and makes her question the person’s intentions, adding that Salah needs to be rushed to either Mathare or the Director of Criminal Investigation offices along Kiambu Road.
“I have met Oketch Salah, but I’d like to believe nobody really knows him. A flat-out lie that you were there at the time of my father’s death – you were not – and talking about things that did not occur is quite dangerous and makes me question his intentions. He should be rushed to either Mathare or DCI with immediate effect.” Winnie said,
Raila Odinga junior has come out to side with his sister to clap back at Oketch Salah’s reaction to Winnie Odinga, terming it as nonsense.