Kenya’s Chief Justice, Martha Koome, led a high-level delegation from the Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to condole with Mama Ida Odinga and the family of the late Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga.

The Chief Justice used the occasion to offer a deeply personal and professional tribute to the former Prime Minister’s enduring commitment to the rule of law.

Koome shared a powerful memory of her first professional interaction with the political veteran, an encounter that occurred during a turbulent chapter in Kenyan history.

“I first came to know Hon. Raila during one of the most difficult chapters of his life; his long detention without trial in the 1980s and early 1990s,” the Chief Justice recalled.

She explained that Mama Ida Odinga had instructed her to join the legal team representing him before the Detention Review Tribunal. The Chief Justice was only 26 at the time.

“That encounter gave me a firsthand appreciation of Hon. Raila’s remarkable courage, his unbreakable spirit, and his unyielding faith in the ideals of freedom and justice even under the most oppressive circumstances.”

The paths of the Chief Justice and Mr Odinga converged again following his release, during the intense pro-democracy struggles of the 1990s. In those years, they worked together in the national push for a new constitutional framework and the expansion of Kenya’s democratic space.

She highlighted Mr Odinga’s unwavering character in this period, as he stood out as a leader of conviction, was deeply committed to constitutionalism and the rule of law, and his vision for a freer and more just Kenya inspired a generation.

The Chief Justice described the late Raila Odinga as a statesman whose name is “forever inscribed in the annals of Kenya’s democracy.”

She noted his critical role in challenging the misuse of power and holding together the fragile threads of national unity through great personal sacrifice.

While many associate Mr Odinga with the three presidential election petitions, the Chief Justice emphasised his earlier, lesser-known work as a public interest justice champion.

Mr Odinga was instrumental in landmark cases that broadened constitutional accountability:

Raila Odinga vs Attorney General & Detainees Review Tribunal (1986), Raila Odinga vs Francis Ole Kaparo & Clerk of the National Assembly (1993), Raila Odinga & Others vs Nairobi City Council (1993), Raila Odinga vs Prof. George Saitoti (1995) and lastly Raila Odinga vs Justice Majid Cockar (1997)

His persistence in these matters compelled the courts to seriously examine the meaning of liberty, legality, and justice even when the country was under repression.

“For this, the Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission celebrate the remarkable life of this constitutional pilgrim, a man whose faith in the rule of law strengthened our constitutional order,” said Chief Justice Koome.

The CJ concluded by stressing the lesson of his life, “His journey reminds us that the courtroom, not the battlefield, is the true arena of democratic contestation.”