Raila Odinga, Kenya's former Prime Minister speaks during an interview with Reuters in Nairobi, Kenya February 18, 2021. He passed away on October 15, 2025.
Some of the campaign manifestos used by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who died last October, are set to become classroom material at a new leadership academy named after him.
The Raila Amolo Odinga Regional Leadership and Governance Academy, domiciled at the Kenya School of Government (KSG), will encompass Mr Odinga’s ideas on governance, public service, democracy and African transformation into structured lessons for senior public officials, emerging leaders and young innovators.
The academy also aims to document the former ODM party leader’s legacy and have a library named after him.
During our visit to the academy’s nascent premises on Wednesday, July 8, afternoon, a day after it was unveiled, workers were busy getting the core rooms ready. Major works were going on in some rooms at an existing KSG building in a move aimed to accommodate all the components of the academy.
Philanthropist Manu Chandaria.
Notably, the academy will include the Chandaria Innovation Centre, supported by industrialist Manu Chandaria, which will anchor one of the institution’s five pillars, which is on education and innovation.
There will also be the Centre for Customer Service Excellence and Productivity that aims to inculcate the culture of customer-focused service and rewarding productivity.
The academy was launched on Tuesday by President William Ruto at KSG’s headquarters in Nairobi’s Lower Kabete area as part of KSG’s centennial celebrations.
Prof Nura Mohamed, the director-general of KSG, told Nation that the first cohort is expected to report in September.
He added that the academy’s curriculum will draw from five broad ideas associated with Mr Odinga’s public life: Pan-African unity; inclusive leadership; good governance; education and innovation; and peace and justice.
“When he was a presidential candidate, he had manifestos, and some of those manifestos will be included in this academy so that then we realise them,” he said.
He also noted that when they picked Mr Odinga’s last manifesto and placed it side-by-side with Kenya Kwanza’s bottom-up blueprint, there were many similarities.
“Fortunately, the bottom-up economic transformation agenda is a replica of what Raila Amolo Odinga stood for. So, we managed to merge, and we will be developing a programme around what he envisioned for Kenya and for Africa,” said Prof Mohamed.
Equally, Prof Mohamed plans to invite figures like the 44th president of the United States, Mr Barack Obama, to give talks.
“We’ll invite him to give a talk about leadership and governance. We’ll invite all other, you know, former presidents, and even the current presidents across the world, to come or converge in Kenya under this academy to reflect on the future; of the public service future; of good governance future, and the transformation of Kenya and the continent,” he said.
The KSG boss noted that a key consideration at the moment is how to use the centre to transform Kenya from a Third World to a First World country.
“For the past three days, we have had what we call high-level policy dialogue,” he said. “The dialogue is all about how can we then change Kenya from a Third World country to a First World country, which is a vision of President William Ruto.”
“The intention of this academy – and that is why we are talking of excellence, productivity, and innovation – is to move Kenya from a Third World country to a First World country within our lifetime,” he added.
According to a booklet explaining the objectives of the Raila academy, it is designed to be a hub for research, policy leadership and practical responses to governance challenges, corruption, resource prioritisation, unemployment, poverty, infrastructure, production and devolved governance in Kenya and Africa.
Its vision says it aims to be “the leading centre of excellence for leadership, governance and sustainable development and driving transformative solutions for Kenya and the continent”.
Former Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, the late Raila Odinga.
Said Prof Mohamed: “The reason why, as Kenya School of Government, we are dedicating an academy in honour of the Right Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga is, one, because Raila Amolo Odinga was our alumnus,”
Mr Odinga attended a senior management course at the institution in 1978, and a letter nominating him to the school from the Kenya Bureau of Standards has been framed and displayed at one of the academy’s rooms.
“As we celebrate 100 years, it is important to dedicate such an academy, which is all about visionary leadership, transforming Kenya and, by extension, inspiring Africa,” Prof Mohamed noted.
The academy’s brief similarly lists democratic governance, ethical leadership, strategic foresight, policy advisory work, productivity measurement, leadership competency development, mentorship, community outreach, youth innovation and a Raila Odinga knowledge management hub as among its core functions.
The academy is expected to serve both senior public officers and younger leaders.
At the top level, Prof Mohamed said, it will target Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries, ministers and other high-level decision-makers from Kenya and the wider continent. It will also run mentorship and coaching programmes for young people transitioning from university to public and private sector leadership, as well as youth innovation programmes at the Chandaria Innovation Hub.
The high-level class, Prof Mohamed said, will be deliberately small, taking in about 15 to 20 participants.
“This is a class where you sit and come up with a strategy that will transform your country,” he said. “It’s a very practical class on how African countries, using the competitive advantage of their public service, can change our countries from that Third World or whatever level to the First World, just like these industrialised countries,” he reasoned.
Beyond commemorating Mr Odinga, the proposed academy is being framed as a practical policy engine. The concept booklet says it will create strategic foresight units for ministries, Parliament, counties and the Judiciary; publish foresight reports; host leadership forums; build a digital knowledge repository; and prepare quarterly productivity reports for the Office of the Head of Public Service.
Kenya's Raila Odinga makes his remarks during the launch of his bid for the African Union Commission Chairmanship candidate at State House, Nairobi on August 27, 2024.
It also proposes a public sector leadership competency framework, crisis simulation facilities, digital leadership learning, a knowledge and innovation hub, community learning through a “KSG Mashinani” under-the-tree model, youth creative economy programmes, a public service museum and e-library on Mr Odinga’s legacy, and mental health and wellness support for public servants.
Prof Mohamed said he was among the people who came up with the idea of having a Raila academy. He added that Mr Chandaria, when approached about the idea, readily jumped in.
“We approached him and said, ‘Why can’t you support us in terms of funding so that we can realise this?’ And then fortunately, you know, Chandaria was also a very close friend of [Mr] Odinga. They’ve done quite a lot together. It is that aspect, then he said, ‘Okay, why not?’” said Prof Mohamed.
He also noted that KSG was one of the last places Mr Odinga visited last year, just days before his hospitalisation and demise.
“His legacy will live on,” Prof Mohamed said. “We are committed to making sure that his vision, dream and philosophy live on so that we can make great progress.”
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