Mudavadi Leads Delegation to India for Repatriation of Raila Odinga’s Remains

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is leading a high-level government and family delegation to India to oversee the repatriation of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s remains.

President William Ruto announced on Wednesday that the Indian government had offered to assist Kenya in facilitating the safe return of Odinga’s body.

“A delegation comprising government officials and family members, led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, is leaving immediately for India to facilitate the proper repatriation of the remains of our brother, Hon. Raila Odinga,” said President Ruto.

The delegation includes Cabinet Secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen and Hassan Joho, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, Raila’s widow Ida Odinga, and other family representatives.

Meanwhile, Deputy President Rigathi Kindiki and Siaya Senator Dr. Oburu Odinga will co-chair the National Funeral Committee for the late Odinga.

President Ruto said the committee will coordinate funeral plans in consultation with the family and relevant state departments.

“In consultation with the family, a committee to be co-chaired by Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga has been set up to coordinate the funeral arrangements,” said Ruto.

The President also announced that Raila Odinga will be accorded a State Funeral with full military honours and all attendant national protocols.

“That the late Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga shall be accorded a State Funeral with military honours and the attendant state protocols being rendered and observed,” Ruto declared.

He further declared a seven-day period of national mourning to honour the former Prime Minister, directing that the national flag fly at half-mast across Kenya and all diplomatic missions abroad.

“In honour of the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga’s extraordinary contribution to our nation, I have declared a seven-day period of national mourning, during which the national flag shall fly at half-mast across the Republic of Kenya and all our missions abroad,” Ruto said.

President Ruto also announced that he had postponed all his public engagements and urged other leaders and public servants to do the same during the mourning period.

“As a mark of respect, I have postponed all my public engagements for the coming days and I ask all other public servants and leaders to do the same so that we can join the nation in this period of mourning and deep reflection,” he said.

Earlier, Ruto visited the Odinga family at their Karen home to personally convey his condolences.

Odinga, 80, died in India after suffering a heart attack while receiving treatment at the Koothattukulam Sreedhareeyam Ayurveda Hospital in Ernakulam. Medical officials said he collapsed during a morning walk and was pronounced dead at Devamatha Hospital in Koothattukulam. His body has been preserved as the family prepares an official statement.

Born on January 7, 1945, in Maseno, Raila Amolo Odinga was one of Kenya’s most influential political figures and a pillar of the nation’s democratic struggle. The son of Kenya’s first Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Raila’s political career was defined by courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to justice and reform.

After earning a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from East Germany in 1970, he lectured at the University of Nairobi and later founded East African Spectre Ltd before fully joining politics.

He was detained for six years following the 1982 coup attempt but emerged as a key advocate for multiparty democracy. Odinga went on to form the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and served as Kenya’s second Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013 under the Grand Coalition Government.

A central figure in the 2010 Constitution’s enactment, Raila Odinga also played a major role in shaping Kenya’s modern political landscape. He vied for the presidency five times — in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2022 — and was widely celebrated as the “People’s President.”

His 2018 “Handshake” with then-President Uhuru Kenyatta helped restore calm and foster unity in a politically divided nation.