SIAYA, Kenya – Mama Ida Odinga has said it never once crossed her mind that she would one day bury her husband, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, describing the moment as the hardest of her life.
Speaking during Raila’s final funeral service at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology in Siaya County on Sunday, Ida said she had always believed it would be her husband leading the family in her send-off — not 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, her voice breaking with emotion. “With pain, without lamentation, I accept the will of God.”
Dressed in a flowing black dress and matching hat, Ida began her eulogy by acknowledging God’s faithfulness even in grief.
She thanked Kenyans, regional neighbours, and the international community for mourning with her family, describing the global outpouring of sympathy as a comfort in their sorrow.
She also extended gratitude to President William Ruto and his administration for according Raila a dignified state send-off — one she said marked a historic first for 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.
Ida also thanked former President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom she described as a steadfast friend to the family.
Recalling their early days, Ida reflected on how she met Raila at the University of Nairobi and married him believing she was settling down with a quiet engineer.
“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 laughter and applause from mourners.
After 54 years of marriage, Ida said she would still choose Raila again — even knowing in advance the political turbulence that lay ahead.
She described her husband as a loving family man who, despite his demanding public life, always made time for her and their children.
“I think the next person after loving me, the other person that he loves — leave alone his children — is Dr Oburu,” she joked, referring to Raila’s elder brother and confidant, Dr Oburu Oginga.
Ida acknowledged that their marriage faced its fair share of challenges but said dialogue and forgiveness kept them united.
“Juggling family and public life exerted extreme pressure 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.
Reflecting on Raila’s long struggle for democracy — from detention and exile to the heights of national leadership — Ida said his legacy would live on.
“He is never coming back, but the spirit lives on,” she said.
