In Summary
- Oketch comes from a wealthy family and is the son of Abdi Salah, a man who is said to have owned a bakery and a storey building in Migori.
- WoK searched Kenya’s doctor register and couldn’t find Oketch’s name. It is false to say that he was Raila’s personal physician as it is Oluoch Olunya, a neurosurgeon who played this role and was Baba’s trusted doctor for more than two decades.
The death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga thrust Oketch Salah into the limelight as he posted his interactions with the veteran politician on his social media accounts. Salah appears to be one of the few people privileged to have had a close relationship with Raila Odinga and is reported to have flown together with him in India for treatment.
Because of this, social media was awash with rumours that Oketch Salah was Raila’s personal physician. WoK took a dig into this matter and discuss what we established in this article.
Personal Doctor?
It appears that it is false to say Oketch Salah was Odinga’s personal physician as this assignment was held by Dr David Oluoch Olunya for a long time. Olunya is one of the few neurosurgeons in Kenya.
Olunya went to University of Nairobi for his MBChB degree where he graduated in 1985. He then matriculated at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, earning his FRCS (Edinburgh) in 1991 and his FRCS (SN) (Edinburgh) in 1998. After these achievements, the revered medic returned to Kenya and joined UoN’s Department of Surgery.
Read also: Secondary Schools That Have Produced Kenya’s Neurosurgeons
The video circulating on social media where a man appears to be performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to Raila Odinga reveals Dr Olunya’s last effort to save the former Prime Minister.
Search on Kenya Medical Practitioners, Dentists and Pharmacist Council (KMPDC) register
A search on the KMPDC specialist register reveals that none of the medics registered goes by the name Salah. However, there are a few who go by the name Oketch but none appears to be Oketch Salah.
We also did a search on the General Practice register and found only two medics going by the name Salah, one with a Mandera address while the other one hails from Mombasa. This means it’s unlikely that either of the two is Oketch Salah.
We found no medic going by the name Salah on the senior registrar register and so was the search result on the registrar register.
Oketch Salah biography and upbringing
Oketch comes from a wealthy family and is the son of Abdi Salah, a man who is said to have owned a bakery in Migori town which was named Salah. The serial businessman also gave Migori its first storey building in the 1970s.
According to reliable sources from Migori, the family also owned super bikes and a car. Oketch Salah went to Ombo Primary School where his dad would chauffeur his siblings to school using a pickup whose loud roar announced their arrival. Salah then proceeded to Kangeso Secondary School.
Despite being of a Somali origin, Oketch’s long stay at Migori has enabled him to be fluent in Dholuo.
Son Wedding
His son, Abdinoor Oketch Salah tied knots with Isra Ibrahim Hamza at an invite only wedding held on 25th October, 2025 at Serena Hotel. The ceremony was attended by powerful people including Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga and Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.
The Nikah ceremony involved both dowry negotiations and the wedding ceremony.
Gold mining and politics
Currently, the family of Oketch Salah is reportedly investing in gold mining at Nyatike. He has political interests going by his proximity to the Odinga family. This has enabled him to take the tag of Raila’s adopted son.
Speaking during Abdinoor Salah’s wedding, Oburu Oginga revealed that Salah played a compassionate role by accompanying Raila Odinga for treatment in Dubai and India.
“Oketch Salah was a great friend and a son of Raila Odinga. They were together in Kenya, in Dubai and even in India. He left me here to go take care of Raila while in the hospital. He looked after Raila until the last minute,” Oburu revealed
Mourning Raila
Salah mourned Raila as a man of courage who had endured the scars of Kenya’s politics.
“Baba was a courageous and bold man, a loving father. His body, just like Luos say, “pien rao” meaning the skin of a hippopotamus, meaning it has seen many things. The scars of politics that he suffered and the damages he suffered,” he said.
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