Lupita Nyong’o Instagram – I join Kenyans in mourning the passing of the great Hon. Raila Odinga. I knew him from up close as one of my father’s dearest friends, and also as a hero to the nation. He was there for my dad and for our family in our moments of celebration and of grief. He shared our family’s milestones and we his. Here is my father’s statement that so beautifully puts into words his love, respect and admiration for a man who gave us so much of himself. Rest in peace, Uncle Raila. My comfort to the whole Odinga family as they come to terms with this monumental loss.
My father, Hon. Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o’s statement:
A TRIBUTE TO THE ENIGMA, THE SON OF THE SOIL — RT. HON. RAILA AMOLLO ODINGA
A powerful man has just rested.
A lion has returned to the mountain.
The storm has stilled, but the thunder of his footsteps will echo for generations.
The sun rose heavy with sorrow, the skies paused in reverence, and the land weeps — not just Kenya, but Africa and the world at large. Because a man like Raila Amollo Odinga does not die. No, he transcends. He takes a break. A halftime. A warrior’s rest after decades on the frontline of justice, democracy, and the dreams of a nation.
Raila was never just a politician. He was a movement. A rhythm in our national heartbeat. A voice that thundered in parliament, whispered in prison cells, and sang from the streets of Kibra to the hearts of millions. His was a life poured out — fully, completely — in service of a better Kenya.
He was imprisoned, vilified, betrayed, but never broken. Never silent. Never afraid.
He stood tall, not because he sought power, but because he was power — the kind that flows from conviction, sacrifice, and the unshakable belief that Kenya could be more. He bore the weight of history, and still had room to carry the hopes of the youth, the forgotten, the voiceless.
And even in the harshest political storms, Raila remained the eye — calm, focused, unyielding.
(Statement continues in my pinned comments) | Posted on 16/Oct/2025 14:47:57
