- Durham University’s Professor Justin Willis joins fellow researchers to study Raila Odinga’s political legacy and lasting influence
- The Durham University Department of History, ranked fourth in the UK in 2025, will lead the research into Odinga’s reform-driven political journey
- In a related move, Germany’s Magdeburg University, Raila’s alma mater, plans to launch an academic exchange programme in his honour
TUKO.co.ke journalist Harry Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya
At a centuries-old university in northern England, Raila Odinga’s story is finding new life in the hands of historians.
Source: Getty Images
Professor Justin Willis from the UK’s Durham University has joined an international team of scholars studying the life and influence of Kenya’s late opposition leader, Raila Amollo Odinga.
The researchers aim to examine how Raila’s decades-long political journey reshaped Kenya’s democracy, with some noting that his death “will create a political vacuum that other leaders will struggle to fill.”
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Who is professor Justin Willis?
Durham University, founded in 1832, is the third-oldest university in England after Oxford and Cambridge. Its Department of History is ranked fourth in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2025.
Willis, a Chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, has spent his career exploring themes of identity, power, and change in eastern Africa. His earlier projects examined elections in Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda, and the history of savings and cooperatives across Africa.
The study will look into Raila’s enduring influence, from his days as an opposition firebrand and advocate for democracy to his central role in the 2010 Constitution that redefined governance in Kenya.
Although he never became president, his reforms and resilience made him one of the most consequential figures in the country’s modern history.
Life and times of Raila Odinga
Born in 1945 in Western Kenya, Raila carried the political torch of his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya’s first vice president.
His journey from engineer to political reformer reflected both struggle and strategy. Despite electoral setbacks, his commitment to constitutional change and social justice earned him a loyal following across generations.
In later years, Raila’s political choices, such as the 2018 handshake with then-president Uhuru Kenyatta, divided opinion but underscored his pragmatism in pursuit of stability.
His passing now leaves Kenya’s political class confronting a vacuum and a legacy not easily matched.
How will Germany’s Magdeburg University honour Raila Odinga?
In a related development, Germany’s Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, where Raila studied mechanical engineering between 1965 and 1970, has announced plans to launch an academic exchange programme in his honour.
During a visit to Kenya’s Embassy in Berlin, University President Professor Dr.-Ing. Jens Strackeljan conveyed condolences to Kenya and presented a commemorative university plate to Ambassador Stella Mokaya for delivery to the Odinga family.
Strackeljan described Odinga as “a great engineer and bridge-builder,” saying his technical training in Magdeburg had a lasting influence on his public career. The new programme will be named after Raila and will strengthen educational and cultural ties between Kenya and Germany.
Mokaya hailed the gesture as a fitting tribute, noting that Raila’s grounding in engineering deeply influenced his approach to politics and leadership.
Source: Getty Images
Did Ruto honour Raila Odinga on Mashujaa Day?
During Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kitui county on Monday, October 20, President William Ruto honoured Raila with Kenya’s highest civilian award.
Ruto posthumously conferred upon the former prime minister the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya, First Class-Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (C.G.H.)-in recognition of his lifelong contribution to unity and democracy.
The honour placed Raila’s name among Kenya’s foremost national heroes, marking his legacy as one of the country’s most influential political figures.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
