Mama Ida Odinga: I Never Imagined I Would Be the One to Bury Raila

Mama Ida Odinga delivered a moving tribute to her late husband, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, during his final funeral service at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology on Sunday.

Dressed elegantly in a black dress and a matching flowing hat, Mama Ida began her heartfelt eulogy by acknowledging God’s goodness even amid immense pain. She told mourners that it had never crossed her mind that she would one day have to bury her husband, saying she had always believed it would be the other way around.

“I never imagined that this would fall on me — to lead the family and the world in burying Raila. I hoped it would be the other way round,” she said.

Despite her grief, Mama Ida said she had accepted God’s will with faith and strength.

“With pain, without lamentation, I accept the will of God,” she declared.

She went on to thank Kenyans, regional neighbours, and the international community for standing with her family during their time of mourning. She also expressed gratitude to President William Ruto and the government for according Raila a dignified state funeral, calling it a first of its kind in the Nyanza region.

“Mr President, my family is grateful to you for being a man of your word and a man who stands with friends after committing to do so,” she said.

Mama Ida also extended appreciation to former President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom she described as a “true friend” who had always stood by the Odinga family.

Reflecting on their early years, Ida reminisced about her university days at the University of Nairobi, where she and her friends had vowed to marry calm and professional men — preferably engineers and doctors.

“Out of my group, I was the first to marry. I married an engineer, a man of calm demeanour and reflective character. They all congratulated me because of that. Little did I know I was marrying a political engineer who would proceed to make engineering of Kenya his lifelong project,” she said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

After 54 years of marriage, Mama Ida said her perspective on politics had completely transformed. Even with full knowledge of the trials that came with political life, she said she would still choose Raila again.

She described him as a devoted family man who always found time for his wife and children despite the intense demands of public life.

“I think the next person after loving me, the other person that he loves — leave alone his children — is Dr Oburu,” she said, referring to Raila’s elder brother and confidant, Dr Oburu Oginga.

Acknowledging that their marriage had its challenges, she emphasized that dialogue and forgiveness were key to sustaining harmony in their relationship.

“Juggling family and public life exerted extreme pressure and demands on us from time to time. I know most of the time Raila was more in political life than in family life, but every time he came home, he gave us what we deserved,” she said.

As she concluded her tribute, Mama Ida reflected on Raila’s decades-long struggle for democracy — marked by imprisonment, exile, and sacrifice — and said his legacy would continue to live on.

“He is never coming back, but the spirit lives on,” she said.

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