President William Ruto has paid glowing tribute to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, thanking his family for “sharing him with the nation” and describing him as a true statesman who always put Kenya before himself.
Speaking during Raila’s funeral service at the Nyayo National Stadium on Friday, Ruto recalled how Raila stood with him during one of the most turbulent periods of his presidency at the height of anti-government protests.
“Across face and time, there are few exceptional persons who, when summoned by the call of history, rise to meet the challenges and opportunities of their time with indomitable vigour, with absolute conviction, and with unwavering valour,” the President said.
He hailed Raila for entering into a working agreement with his administration — a move credited with calming the youth-led protests that had threatened to destabilise the government.
“The man in whose honour we gather here today — we salute you for the great statesman and patriot that you were,” Ruto said.
Turning to the Odinga family, the President extended the nation’s condolences.
“To Mama Ida and your children — Rosemary, Raila Junior, and Winnie — as well as the larger Raila family led by our elder brother Dr Senator Oburu Odinga, please accept the nation’s most heartfelt condolences on this immense loss,” he said.
“Kenya stands with you in this moment of sorrow. We share in your inexpressible grief, but we also share in your pride for your husband, your father, your brother, and your kin who belonged not only to you but also to us. Thank you for sharing him so generously with us as families and as a nation.”
Ruto, who fondly referred to Raila by his nicknames — Tinga, Jakom, Woud Mary, Woud Ping, and Baba — described him as more than a friend and a man “easy to forgive for the greater good of all.”
“Amolo may no longer walk with us, but his spirit lives within every Kenyan and every African. Such was the depth of his influence and impact that even in his absence, his presence endures,” Ruto said.
He added that the occasion was not merely to bid farewell but to celebrate Raila’s ideals and vision for a better Kenya.
The President reflected on his long political journey with Raila — from their time together in the Pentagon, to being on opposing sides, and later working together again under a broad-based government.
“To you, Baba, I owe you, and I’m truly and eternally grateful that our paths crossed and that we shared this journey,” he said.
“We have been both collaborators and competitors, friends and rivals, but always patriotic Kenyans united by a dream greater than ourselves — a dream of a united motherland.”
"As I have reflected on Raila's legacy following his passing, I have entertained no doubt in my mind that history will judge him fairly and kindly because whenever the nation needed him to rise above self, he always did unreservedly."
Raila, who died aged 80 while receiving treatment in India, will be buried on Sunday at his home in Bondo.
Public viewing of his body will be held on Saturday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Kisumu.
