Oburu Odinga has opened up about the final moments he shared with his late brother, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, offering an emotional recollection of their last conversation before receiving the heartbreaking news of his passing.
Speaking during an interview with NTV on Sunday night, the Siaya Senator and interim ODM Party Leader described their final exchange as warm and full of hope, revealing that Raila appeared to be in good health and was looking forward to reuniting with him in Dubai later that week.
Oburu explained that he had spoken with Raila on a Tuesday night, just days before his death.
During the call, the two brothers had discussed various personal and political matters, and Raila had assured him that he was feeling better and preparing to leave the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Centre in Kerala.
“I spoke with him the night he died, and he was in very good spirits,” Oburu said. “He was to meet me that weekend. That was Tuesday night, and he was to travel to Dubai on Friday. I was travelling to Dubai on Sunday, and so we were planning to meet there, as he was to stay for four days.”
According to Oburu, Raila’s apparent recovery gave the family great relief. The former Prime Minister had been receiving specialized Ayurvedic care in Kerala, a place the Odinga family had used before for healing and recovery.
He was not undergoing any major treatment at the time but had earlier received care for a blood clot in Mumbai. This made his sudden collapse and death all the more shocking.
Oburu recalled that the following morning, his sister called him with the alarming news that Raila had collapsed. At the time, he was preparing to go out and play golf.
He said the shock of the call nearly made him faint, but he quickly gathered himself, knowing he had to remain strong for the rest of the family.
“About 20 minutes later, I received the dreaded news that doctors were not able to resuscitate him,” he narrated somberly.
The senator noted that the family had no reason to believe Raila was in danger, as his condition had seemed to improve significantly. He said the public updates shared about Raila’s health were truthful and based on his visible progress.
Many Kenyans, however, had speculated that the family, the party, and even the government might have concealed the seriousness of his illness, but Oburu dismissed such claims as baseless, insisting that everyone, including close relatives, was confident in his recovery.In his emotional narration, Oburu also mentioned that he had been with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki when the latter made the now widely discussed phone call to Raila, a call that attracted public scrutiny after Raila’s sudden passing.
He confirmed that Kindiki’s intentions were genuine and that no one expected the tragic turn of events that followed.
