Former prime minister Raila Odinga.
For half a century, Raila Odinga, who died on Wednesday in India, has been Kenya’s political North Star, sometimes blazing, sometimes blinding.
To his admirers, he is the man who expanded the nation’s democratic space, defied dictatorship, and made dissent respectable.
But to his critics, he was the ageing reformer who stayed too long at the barricades, then quietly took a seat at the table he once vowed to overturn.
In August 2024, after Kenya’s Gen Z rose in a digital rebellion against power, many wondered which Odinga they were seeing: the revolutionary or the reconciler?
Former prime minister Raila Odinga.
Born of struggle, Odinga’s career was a long love affair with protest.
From the Nyayo House torture chambers during late President Daniel Moi’s era to the “No” campaign of 2005 and the resistance that followed the 2007, 2017 and 2022 elections, his defiance shaped the country’s democratic culture.
He became the symbol of endurance—the man who could not be bought or silenced.
Indeed, during the Gen Z protests, a demonstrator recorded herself urging the former premier to rest and leave it to the youths.
His presence at rallies electrified the masses and made the language of opposition part of everyday conversation.
For a generation raised on fear, Odinga embodied courage.
It is a sentiment shared by many of his contemporaries.
Former Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara, who was detained alongside Odinga during the Moi reign, says to walk with Raila is to walk with history.
“Not the history written in textbooks, but the one written in blood and courage. He has never asked to be anointed. He has never demanded sainthood. He has simply insisted on being heard. That insistence has changed the course of this country,” he says in a tribute to Odinga.
“The 2010 Constitution, flawed as it may be in implementation, would not exist without the movement that Raila helped to sustain. The political freedoms we now take for granted were once criminal acts. He lived through that transition, not as a spectator but as one of its main architects,” adds Mr Imanyara.
He goes on: “I honour him not because he has been perfect, but because he has been present. In every critical moment of this country’s democratic journey, Raila Odinga has shown up. He has stood with the forgotten. He has named the injustice. He has reminded us that this country is still in the making.”
Others, however, offer a more detached assessment of his political journey.
Former prime minister Raila Odinga.
Political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi opines that Odinga was a misunderstood statesman, adding that Kenyans did not take time to study him.
“I can only describe him as a statesman who was misunderstood by many people. People saw him only as a leader of the Luo nation. But Raila did not shuttle in and out of prison for a whole eight years... prison and detention, he did not do that for the Luo nation,” he said.
Even so, August 2024 might have blotted his legacy—at least in the eyes of some youths.
As youthful protesters filled the streets demanding accountability, Odinga chose dialogue, joining President William Ruto in crafting the “broad-based government arrangement”.
That is how CSs Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), John Mbadi (National Treasury), Hassan Joho (Mining) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives) joined the Cabinet in August 2024.
The move was hailed by some—including the president and Odinga—as statesmanship: a seasoned leader helping to steady a nation on edge.
During the funeral of Mama Phoebe Asiyo, at Wikondiek in Homa Bay County on August 8, 2025, Odinga defended his decision to work with the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“People who do not understand history talk carelessly. Arab Spring is an example of how a country can be if it becomes unstable. Some countries have military administration and we do not want to get there,” Odinga said.
When he rose to speak after Odinga, Dr Ruto showered the former prime minister with praise.
“You have a place in the history, progress and future of our nation. Your inspiration to leaders is something we are proud of. I am persuaded that Kenya is a great country and this will be based on your (Kenyans) commitments,” he said.
Yet, for some young Kenyans, the broad-based arrangement felt like betrayal.
They saw not a peacemaker, but a power broker; not a father of democracy, but an uncle of the establishment.
The chants that once carried his name questioned his relevance.
Azimio La Umoja Presidential Candidate Raila Odinga address supporters at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani on August 6, 2022 during their last Campaign rally before elections.
Still, history rarely fits neatly into hero-or-villain boxes.
Mr Ngunyi, however, feels that Odinga decided to work with Dr Ruto for the sake of the country.
“Raila is the architect of the handshake doctrine. He believed that we fight, but the guy who wins has to shake the hand of the loser. Even on this, the broad-based government, he was the architect of it. And he was not doing it for—okay, there are personal gains that he got from this. However, he was also doing it for the country. This man was a true patriot,” he said.
