Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has described Raila Odinga as the longest suffering political detainee in Kenya.
In a statement on Wednesday October 15, 2025, Kalonzo noted that he received the devastating news of the death of Raila Odinga upon arrival at Heathrow International Airport, London, United Kingdom where he is on a scheduled 10-day programme.
“Rt Hon Odinga, fondly referred to for decades as ‘Baba’ by his ardent supporters, family and friends, and, albeit begrudging in admiration by his most-fiercest detractors, was more than an enigma. Baba was a force of nature that kept on going and going, despite and in spite of the hurdles put in front of him,” Kalonzo noted in a statement.
Kalonzo added that at the heart of the struggle for multipartyism, Raila’s body bore the scars of the slings and arrows, bullets and batons, that no man or woman should ever endure.
“Yet, at each point of release from the detention cells and torture chambers, he would raise his arms up to the heavens, his fist clenched in determination; resolved that the tears and painful scars he personally suffered, would yield to democracy and freedom for his beloved Kenya. That is why we call him the Champion of the Second Political Liberation,” Kalonzo stated.
According to the Wiper leader, Baba’s physical and mental struggle for Kenya – well documented nationally and internationally – earned him the title ‘Agwambo’.
Kalonzo recalled that from the opposition benches to the government side as Prime Minister, to August 27, 2010, the day Kenya’s new constitution was promulgated, Raila, played an instrumental and integral role in devolving power from an imperial presidency to a people’s centred constitutional order.
“Since 2013, I had the singular privilege of working very closely and passionately with my brother, twice as his running mate both in CORD and NASA, as well as his partner in the Azimio La Umoja – One Kenya Coalition,” Kalonzo recalled.
“To Mama Ida, and the entire family, in particular Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winne, as much as I cannot imagine the shock and the heartbreak that you are currently going through, I want you to know that my family and I stand in solidarity with you. In this regard, I know that all Kenyans are praying for you,” he added.
Kalonzo maintained that Kenya has lost an exemplary leader, the President who won but was never declared and sworn into office.
At that same time, Kalonzo disclosed that he will rearrange his schedule of engagements in the United Kingdom in honour of Raila.
The Wiper leader concluded by emphasizing that the loss of Raila Odinga is not only a loss to his family and country, but also to the entire African continent.
