Dennis Onyango: Oketch Salah was Raila's friend

Dennis Onyango speaking during an interview on Citizen TV's Sunday Live on June 7, 2026/ SCREENGRAB

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's aide Dennis Onyango has weighed in on questions surrounding the relationship between the late former Prime Minister and businessman Salah Oketch, saying the two were friends and travelled together on several occasions.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV's Sunday Live, Onyango said he knew Oketch personally and interacted with him in Raila's circle during the veteran politician's final years.

The remarks come amid public debate over Oketch's relationship with Raila, with some family members and close associates publicly distancing themselves from claims that the businessman was part of the former prime minister's inner circle.

"He was Raila's friend. I know him," Onyango said.

According to Onyango, Oketch was a businessman rather than a politician and became part of Raila's circle in the later years of his life.

"He came in in the final years. He was a businessman. He was not a politician, he was a businessman," Onyango said.

While he said he was not privy to the details of the business dealings between the two, Onyango maintained that their friendship was evident from the time they spent together.

Onyango cited several instances in which he was in the company of both Raila and Oketch, including what would become the former prime minister's final journey abroad.

He also recalled travelling with the two to Abuja, Nigeria, saying Oketch accompanied Raila on trips that were not always easy.

"I was with him the day Raila left for India, never to return. We were there, he was there," Onyango said.,

"I was with him in Abuja. He travelled with Raila to pretty difficult places. He was Raila's friend."

Pressed on why the relationship has become a subject of dispute, Onyango said he could not explain why some people questioned Oketch's place in Raila's life.

The former aide said he felt compelled to address the issue publicly because of his long association with Raila and his own knowledge of the people who interacted closely with him.

"I've been forthright on that matter because I know if Raila woke up today and asked me, 'Dennis, you still won't tell me about Salah?' Why didn't you set the record straight?" Onyango said.

He said given his role around Raila, he could not credibly claim that he did not know Oketch.