A somber mood filled Mumbai, India, on Wednesday night as Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi led the Kenyan delegation in receiving the body of the late Raila Odinga. The former Prime Minister had been undergoing treatment in India before his passing on October 15.
In a video shared shortly after the team’s departure from Mumbai, the delegation was seen gathered quietly in a waiting lounge, their faces heavy with grief as they awaited the arrival of Raila’s sister, Ruth Odinga, and his daughter, Winnie Odinga.
Members of the delegation, some in formal suits and ties and others dressed casually with backpacks and coffee mugs in hand, entered the lounge one by one.
The atmosphere was subdued; muffled whispers and silent tears marked the gravity of the moment.
A few minutes later, Winnie Odinga appeared from one corner of the room, dressed in a white short-sleeved blouse and a black half-jacket. Her eyes were weary, her face drawn with heartbreak.
Mudavadi rose to embrace her warmly, whispering condolences as others in the room quietly murmured, “Pole sana.”
Moments later, Ruth Odinga entered, wearing a zebra-striped blouse and black pants.
She too moved around the room, exchanging quiet greetings with members of the Kenyan team who had come to stand with the family.
At one point, Winnie sat beside Mudavadi, the two locked in a hushed conversation. Her expression, though composed, revealed the depth of her sorrow.
A few hours later, Raila Odinga’s casket, draped in the Kenyan flag was brought into the room. In a deeply emotional gesture, Winnie placed her father’s iconic hat atop the casket, a symbol of farewell and enduring legacy.
As the delegation stood in solemn silence, the body was carefully moved to a waiting aircraft. The Kenyan team then boarded the flight for the journey back home, carrying with them not only the body of a national leader but the weight of a nation’s grief.
The remains of Raila are aboard a Kenya Airways (KQ) plane and are expected to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 9:30 a.m.
The body will be received by President William Ruto at the Nairobi airport, where military officers will stand guard.
The high-level delegation to India, led by Mudavadi, included Senator Oketch, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah, among others. Representing the family is Raila’s youngest daughter, EALA MP Winnie Odinga.
The late statesman, who died of cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at an Ayurvedic facility, will be accorded a state funeral with full honors, as announced by President Ruto.
A national funeral committee, co-chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga, has already begun holding sessions to oversee the arrangements.
