- Dennis Onyango revealed that Raila Odinga seemed to sense his time was near, though he showed no signs of illness
- A February 2024 trip to Germany, where Raila revisited his old schools, appeared to mark the beginning of quiet preparations
- In their private talks, Raila began outlining plans for his legacy, including institutions he hoped would outlive him.
- Weeks before his death, he spoke of resting places, unfinished projects, and a foundation he intended to establish after returning from India
Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
When Raila Odinga sat down to share a meal with his longtime aide Dennis Onyango, nothing seemed out of place.
Source: Youtube
The menu was familiar; kienyeji chicken, mboga, beef, and kamongo, the traditional mudfish he always loved.
Yet, looking back now, Onyango has revealed that the conversation and the months that led up to his death showed something deeper.
Did Raila sense his time was coming?
According to Onyango, the veteran opposition leader and former prime minister had already sensed his time was drawing near.
During an interview, he explained that it was not because of illness, but because of what Onyango describes as “wisdom that comes with age and being an African, he knew his time was up now.”
“Raila was 80 and people talk as if he was not old. All these 80 in the villages across Kenya are grounded. They are not moving. They can’t board vehicles, they can’t board planes. Raila was strong and energetic,” he recounted.
Onyango pointed to a trip they took together to Germany in February 2024 as the moment he first noticed the change.
He explained that the former premier took him to visit the schools and university he had attended decades earlier.
“From the high school to Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, he wanted to make sure everything about his past was clearly recorded. He would insist that I take notes. It felt like he was tying loose ends,” Onyango stated.
At the university, they met professors who confirmed Raila’s academic record in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
One professor even showed them a board that had once listed the top scholars at the institution, where Raila’s name was among them.
Onyango said his biggest challenge was getting him to rest as doctors would advise him to take breaks of two or three weeks, but Raila would only stay home for a few days before returning to political and social engagements.
“He does one day to a second to say he says I’m okay now. Then he hits the road. The politicians want him everywhere; come I’m having this I’m having this burial. So I am one of those people who pushed him get out of the country go and rest ,” Onyango revealed.
What were Raila’s wishes about his legacy?
But beneath that unstoppable drive, Onyango said noticed something else; during private talks, Raila began discussing what should happen after his death.
In July and August 2024, Raila spoke about plans to support Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University with a new department focused on mining and extractive industries.
When Onyango suggested setting up a Raila Odinga School of Government, similar to Harvard’s Kennedy School, Raila’s response startled him.
“He told me categorically that was around that was in September just weeks before, in September, he told me ‘you know those things you need to do for posthumous when I’m gone you can deal with those things’,” Onyango stated.
The former prime minister also discussed his final resting place and his family’s legacy institutions.
Source: Facebook
He made it clear he did not want a separate museum built for him, saying the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Mausoleum already represented the family’s heritage.
“He told me ‘yes we need a Raila Odinga foundation I need to sit down with Oburu and call Anyang’ Nyong’o we need to sit down together because Anyang’ is familiar with this thing we need to set up that foundation he told me that somebody was set up something in Kisumu called Raila Odinga Foundation I don’t agree with it we need to do a new one so those are the type of things he was to do on return from India,” Onyango narrated.
Did Raila have a premonition?
Elsewhere, a legislator from the ODM revealed that their former leader told members three separate times in a meeting that he might collapse and die.
The lawmaker described this remark as sounding odd at the time, but they now believe it may have been a premonition.
Raila reportedly also joked that he would die at age 80, aligning with a family pattern mentioned in the discussion.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
