President Ruto in Karen to mourn Raila Odinga
By Faith Lagat, October 15, 2025In a poignant display of national unity amid profound grief, President William Ruto arrived at the upscale Karen residence of Kenya’s veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, joining mourners flocking to the site since news of Odinga’s passing broke earlier today.
President Ruto was accompanied to Raila’s Karen residence by a host of political heavyweights, including Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, and Governor Hassan Joho, among other prominent leaders.
The 80-year-old former Prime Minister, affectionately known as “Baba”, died in a hospital in India, where he was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment, a heartbreaking end to a life that spanned decades of political activism, five presidential bids, and pivotal roles in ushering multiparty democracy to Kenya.
President Ruto, who once sparred fiercely with Odinga in the bruising 2022 election but later forged an unlikely alliance through a “broad-based government”, has yet to deliver a public statement on the tragedy, leaving the nation hanging on his words as he privately consoles the bereaved family inside the home that symbolised Odinga’s enduring Nyanza legacy.
For now, the air in Karen hangs heavy with unspoken tributes to a man whose unyielding pursuit of justice reshaped Kenya’s democratic fabric, even as his absence casts a long shadow over the continent’s political horizon.
Siaya community in shock
Meanwhile, ODM leader Raila Odinga’s Opoda village in Siaya County was plunged into mourning following his sudden death. Friends, relatives, and hundreds of residents thronged his usually quiet homestead, wailing and shouting that his passing was a huge loss to both Kenyans and the Luo community. The compound, manned by vigilant Administration Police officers, became a scene of grief as youths questioned who would now stand up for their rights.
“Jowi, jowi, jowi, yore yore,” chanted mourners, while others lamented, “You have been our only son whom the state listens to. Who else will fit in your political boots and save us from the wrath of an administration keen on infringing on our rights? We don’t see any.” The death of Raila was seen as a setback to the Nyanza region, whose development momentum had just begun to gain traction.
Even events meant to boost local development were disrupted. The Siaya Investment and Trade Conference was halted as participants wept, and students at Siaya National Polytechnic, hosting the event, fainted from grief and had to be rushed to Siaya Referral Hospital. In Bondo Town, boda boda operators hooted through the streets in mourning, while residents eulogised Raila as “a patriot and humble servant” whose leadership brought stability to Kenya.