Kalonzo revisits Raila’s dream to Canaan in a public address in Bondo
By Kenneth Mwenda, October 19, 2025Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka delivered an emotional tribute to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, recalling their long political journey and the unfulfilled dream of leading Kenyans to what they called Canaan.
Speaking during Raila’s state funeral at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Bondo, on Sunday, October 19, 2025, Kalonzo said he wished he could speak directly to Raila one more time.
“I want to talk to Raila, but I may never get this time again,” he said.
Kalonzo reminded mourners of the biblical nickname they gave Raila during their 2017 campaigns.
“We called you Joshua,” he said. “But we never got to Canaan. There were crocodiles across the River Jordan, as we used to say.”
Unfinished Canaan journey
During the 2017 election, the Azimio coalition popularised the “journey to Canaan” slogan, symbolising hope for a new political dawn. But after what they described as a stolen election, Raila and his allies never realised that promise. Kalonzo said the pain of that loss still lingers, but the ideals Raila stood for must live on.
“I give you my pledge,” Kalonzo said. “The values you stood for, the tears and the pain of a stolen election, will not be in vain. The nation is gathered together.”
Kalonzo also referred to the printed funeral programme, which quoted Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words,‘I’ve been to the mountaintop. I’ve seen the promised land.’ He told mourners that Raila, like King, had seen the vision of a just and united Kenya even if he never fully lived to see it.
“You may never get there with us, but we have to get there on your behalf,” he said.
Raila’s burial, marked by full military honours, became the first state funeral ever held for a leader from the Nyanza region.