Mama Ida Odinga has expressed gratitude to President William Ruto and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their swift intervention following her late husband, ODM leader Raila Odinga’s death, enabling his body to be repatriated and buried according to his wishes.

Speaking during a ceremony marking what would have been Raila’s 81st birthday on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, Ida said the family is deeply grateful to the Kenyan government for the role it played following Raila’s death.

“On behalf of our family, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Kenya, his excellency William Samoei Ruto and the entire government of Kenya that mobilised and deployed at the service of Baba and on his death. Mr President, we saw the hand of friendship. We felt the positive weight of government at your direction, and we are grateful,” Ida said.

She noted that the government’s prompt intervention made it possible to transfer Raila’s body from India to Kenya within a short time and to lay him to rest in accordance with the timelines set out in his will.

“Your hand on decisive and swift action enabled us to transfer Baba’s body from India to Kenya in record time and to bury him within the timelines in his will,” she said.

Indian government cooperation

Mama Ida also singled out Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what she termed personal and executive intervention that facilitated the repatriation process.

“We thank our friend, the Right Honourable Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, for the personal and executive intervention that made it possible for his friend’s body to leave India swiftly to enable his friend’s will to be respected,” she said.

Leaders’ support

In her remarks, she extended gratitude to a number of former heads of state and regional leaders who stood with the family during the period of mourning, including retired president Uhuru Kenyatta, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina.

“We felt the friendship of the former president, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta… and we are grateful. Mine here was just to show gratitude and to say a big thank you for all that has taken place,” she said.

Mama Ida also thanked the medical teams and hospitals in both Kenya and India that attended to Raila during his illness, saying their dedication and care would not be forgotten.

“We are also deeply grateful to the dedicated medical team, and definitely we are most grateful to the hospitals that attended to him, the hospital in Kenya and the hospitals in India,” she said.

Beyond his family and the Kenyan people, Mama Ida said Raila had a deep and abiding love for the Orange Democratic Movement, thanking the party and its staff for their loyalty and service.

“Other than his family and the people of Kenya, Baba also had another love, and that is the love for the Orange Democratic Movement. I thank the party and all the staff who served Baba in different capacities for their dedication to him in life and in death,” she said.