The death of Raila Odinga that was announced in the early morning hours of 15th October 2025 is still a trending topic in Kenya ten days later.
It has been a matter of public debate on whether Raila died in Kenya, earlier than reported or in India as announced. WoK delves into this issue to clear the doubt that Raila passed away in India as announced.
Here are strong reasons to believe so:
1). Raila’s wish to be buried within 72 hours of his death
The veteran opposition leader’s wish was to be buried within 72 hours of his death. If he had died earlier as alleged then this short period would not have been honoured. In the African culture and across the globe for that matter, going against the wishes of a dead is something few can dare.
2). Indian news sites breaking the news
The likely reason why Raila went to India for treatment was for his privacy. However, information about him not being in good health seems to have been leaked prior to his death.
The fact that Indian news sites were the first to announce that Raila passed away during a morning walk proves that Raila actually passed away in India. The nature by which these sites went ahead and broke the news prior to the official GoK announcement proves that the same would have happened if Raila had died earlier.
3). Insiders
The various people who had close contact with Raila Odinga revealed their messages to Odinga at a time when people rumored that he had already died.
Esther Passaris for example revealed that she talked to Raila on the last Monday before his death.
“In the morning, I woke up and said, ‘let me send my party leader a message.’ So on Monday I sent him a message; you can see here. I sent him one Monday. I sent him a long message. I always keep Baba informed of my entire life.”
Another person who had contact with Raila Odinga is Gabriel Oguda who revealed how he has missed Raila’s call.
Oguda posted a screenshot showing two missed calls from Raila on Monday, October 13 just a few days before he died.
“Twice I missed Baba’s call on Monday. He called back again after I returned his call and didn’t connect.”
“After speaking for two minutes, he called me back again immediately to pass on a message he had missed during the earlier call.”
“I am lost for words,” he said.
Another insider and man who is known to be close to Odinga family is journalist Dennis Onsarigo who revealed that Raila was going to jet back to Kenya the weekend before he died.
“What Oburu Odinga said is right, he was returning home over the weekend and was in good health,” he said in a live session with NTV.
Another insider, and ODM communication chief Phillip Etale revealed that Odinga had reached out to him to set records straight that he was still alive.
While in India, Raila kept in touch with close allies. Etale recalled receiving a call from him on Monday, 6 October, around 12:55pm.
“It was like a coincidence because I was seated in the office with some of our youths who had come to seek clarification on the news that was spreading on social media regarding Baba’s health,” he said.
“I sought his permission to put him on loudspeaker so he could assure the young men that he was okay. He agreed. The boys were happy. They left smiling and assured. It is then that Baba said, ‘Philip, I can see people posting so many untruths about me online (laughing and giggling). Tell them we are praying for them.”
4). CCTV footage
The CCTV footage which is dated 15th October, 2025 reveals the last moments of Raila Odinga where medics hurriedly put him on a stretcher. However, all efforts including CPR and defibrillation were futile. Raila Odinga was pronounced dead that day at around 9:52 a.m Indian Time (7: 22 a.m Nairobi time).