NAIROBI, Kenya — The solemn state funeral of the late former Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga at the Nyayo National Stadium was more than a national farewell — it became a moment of moral reflection for Kenya.
As thousands of mourners filled the stands and world leaders watched from across the globe, the country’s top clergy used the pulpit to deliver a pointed message to Kenya’s political elite: abandon the politics of cash and reclaim the politics of conviction.
Leading the service, Professor David Kodia, Bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Bondo Diocese, delivered a sermon that captured both grief and rebuke. He praised Raila as “a leader who never used the power of money to buy loyalty or intimidate the people,” contrasting his lifelong fight for democracy with the transactional politics that dominate Kenya’s leadership today.
“Unlike many of our current leaders, Raila Odinga never used handouts to win support,” Bishop Kodia declared to applause. “He won hearts with conviction, not coins. Today, we have bad manners among our politicians. They have taught our people the culture of handouts.”
The Bishop described Raila as a statesman “anchored in principles, sacrifice, and integrity,” and urged leaders to emulate his moral courage. “Raila Odinga valued service over status,” he said, “and never saw power as something to be bought.”
As the crowd listened, Kodia turned his sermon into a challenge to the living. He condemned the “toxic culture of handouts” that has turned leadership into a marketplace and citizens into dependents, calling it “a national sin” that undermines democracy.
“We cannot build a nation on handouts,” he said. “We build it on hard work, values, and justice. The poor deserve empowerment, not pity money.”
The service was led by the Anglican Church of Kenya, the same institution that had only months earlier conferred the title of Honorary Canon upon Mama Ida Odinga, Raila’s wife. Her elevation was in recognition of decades of faith-based service, women’s empowerment work, and steadfast support for her husband through years of political struggle.
“If there is one thing Kenyans must learn from Raila Odinga,” he concluded, “it is that power is not in money — it is in moral courage.”
