NAIROBI, Kenya- President William Ruto and Siaya Governor James Orengo are expected at the handover and commissioning of Raila Odinga’s mausoleum in Bondo on Wednesday, placing two political rivals on the same stage at a site loaded with personal and national significance.
Orengo, the governor of the county hosting the ceremony, said he was honoured to host the handover.
On Tuesday evening, he met Raila’s widow, Ida Odinga, at Opoda Farm and joined a final walkthrough of the mausoleum at Kang’o ka Jaramogi.
Ruto is expected to lead the dedication and commissioning.
The invitation-only event will feature military honours, with public access to the mausoleum scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Raila was Ruto’s political rival before the two entered a working arrangement in government, and Ruto later described the former prime minister as a friend and political mentor.
Now, as the country approaches the first anniversary of Raila’s death on October 15, the mausoleum project, completed by the Kenya Defence Forces with museum teams, is being formally placed under state stewardship.
But the politics surrounding the ceremony have changed sharply since Raila’s death.
Orengo has become one of the most vocal leaders in the opposition Linda Mwananchi movement, calling for a united coalition to defeat Ruto in 2027.
He has used the slogan “One Term, One Team, One Coalition” and pledged to work towards making Ruto a “WANTAM” president.
Ruto, meanwhile, has been campaigning for his administration’s development record and broad-based political arrangement.
During his September tour of Nyanza, he took that message to Siaya and directly criticised Orengo, urging him to leave Linda Mwananchi and work with the government.
Ruto accused the governor of allowing himself to be used by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Orengo was absent from the Siaya stop. Reports said he was in Nairobi hosting opposition figures.
That absence gave the visit an unmistakable political edge.
Ruto’s allies attacked Orengo’s leadership and record, while the president presented government projects as evidence of a new development push in the region.
The governor later renewed his call for opposition unity, saying political change should come at the next election, or sooner through constitutional means.
The mausoleum ceremony offers a very different setting for their next encounter.
