Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has recounted three emotional moments that, he says, forever defined his bond with the late Raila Odinga. Speaking during a live interview on a local TV station on Friday, October 17, 2025, Matiang’i opened up about the rare show of compassion, loyalty, and courage that Raila displayed when he faced some of the darkest moments of his life.

“Raila did something that I will never forget in 2023,” Matiang’i said, recalling the night when security officers, he said, attempted to raid his home. “On the day when there was an attempted raid at my house, Raila arrived with several members of ODM after 9:00 p.m. and stayed with me and my family for a long time, advising me to take heart. He even addressed the press. He stood with me at the greatest time of need.” Matiang’i said

Also watch: Mutula Kilonzo Junior: Politics will never be the same again, but Raila fought for this Nation.

The former minister said that moment changed how he viewed leadership and the concept of friendship. Raila, he explained, didn’t just show political solidarity; he showed humanity. “He stayed with us for a long time that night. That kind of care is not something you forget,” Matiang’i said.

He went on to narrate another painful memory. “On 15th February, my house was also broken into. My police officers threw everything around, and I remembered those are the people who three months ago were working under my command,” he said, adding that Raila also talked to his family members. “Raila came to my house also and talked to me and my family,” he added

Matiang’i added that even when the pressure grew worse, Raila never kept his distance. “I was also summoned to DCI, and after being humiliated for more than seven hours, again Kenyatta called me, and then Raila arrived at my house alone. He drove himself alone. We talked and had dinner,” he recounted.

He described their conversation as deeply personal and fatherly. “He told me, Fred, I want to speak to you like my son. I have been through this, and I know what is going on in your mind. He told me that it doesn’t say anything about your country or the government; it could be a few people in the administration,” he stated, adding that the moments Raila came through for him during difficult moments. “Nothing will remove that from my mind or from my family until I leave this world,” Matiang’i concluded.