Cooperatives CS Wycliffe Oparanya has stated that he has a special room in his house dedicated to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, where he could rest during his visits to the area.

While speaking at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, after accompanying leaders, including the former Ghanaian president, to pay tribute to the family, Oparanya said he had a special wing in his house where the late leader could rest and rejuvenate himself during his visits.

He went ahead to state that the wing was set aside after the request of the former prime minister, following years of friendship.

“He was a dear friend, and that is why he requested me to have a wing in my house for him to rest when he comes to the west,” Oparanya said.

The room

In 2023, during a house tour at his Butere home, he showcased a wing in his mansion where the late former prime minister used to rest during visits and campaigns in the area.

The wing comprised a sitting room with expensive furniture, with the mats removed because when his supporters, who live in Oparanya’s neighbourhood, learnt that he was around, they would storm the house, often soiling the floor mats.

“This is an important room. It is preserved for my party leader when he comes. This is where he sits. You can see I have removed the carpet; it is usually here. When he is here, so many people walk in with mud and so on. He usually sits here and has breakfast when he sleeps here,” Oparanya stated.

The wing also had a bedroom where the late leader could sleep so that he would not waste time travelling back to Nairobi when visiting the area during campaigns.

The bed was well-dressed with orange sheets, depicting his two decades of leadership in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). During the house tour, Oparanya emphasised that nobody else ever slept in that room.

“This is where he sleeps. You can see the bed has our colours; it is orange. This is where he sleeps. This is reserved for him; no other person sleeps in this room,” he said.

Their friendship

Oparanya went on to mourn the former prime minister, saying that other than being his party leader, Raila Odinga was also his confidant, who had held his hand politically and appointed him as deputy party leader for 13 years, a position he had to relinquish after his cabinet appointment.