Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who passed away on October 15, 2025, leaves a legacy that defines true leadership as unity and service, not power.
Raila Amolo Odinga was far from infallible. For some, his unsuccessful bid for the African Union (AU) chairmanship, coupled with his decision to join President William Ruto’s broad-based government policy-making team following youth-led protests, came as a disappointment.
Many remember him as a shrewd and ambitious politician who mobilised his loyal ethnic base for personal political gain and who failed in his own democratic ambitions. Some interpret these actions as mere imperfections in the nation-building process, while others view them as evidence of self-interest, an interpretation with understandable merit.
