Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday October 15, 2025 joined other leaders and Kenyans in mourning the passing of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
In a statement posted on his social media pages, Gachagua termed Raila as the father of Kenya’s 2nd liberation.
The former DP condoled with Raila’s spouse Ida Odinga and the entire family, as he expressed his deepest sympathies to the Odinga family and to the people of Kenya.
“The enigma Baba, the father of our democracy and a formidable hero of Kenya’s 2nd liberation, you stood tall and strong in intellect, knowledge and quest for democracy.
“You faced brutal regimes’ brutality, you were tortured, jailed, abducted and detained severally for Kenya. When the history of Africa’s Pan-Africanism is written, your chapter as the indefatigable lion of Africa will attract many readers,” Gachagua noted in a statement.
Gachagua added that Kenyans will not only remember Raila’s craft in resilience, persistence and democratic values days on but also his voice during difficult moments.
“You dedicated your life in the service of humanity: as a political activist, a Civil Servant, a University Lecturer, an MP, a Party Leader, a Cabinet Minister, a Prime Minister and many other fronts. On all these, your trail of success and impact remains indelible,” he stated.
“It will be remembered that you were at the forefront in the fight for Kenya’s democracy and liberation of Kenya on many firsts. Most profoundly, Kenya’s multiparty democracy and the Constitution of Kenya 2010, a race you strongly stood in for and we the people of Kenya shall never forget,” he added.
At the same time, Gachagua expressed his strong admiration of Raila Odinga’s art of forming and sustaining a strong political party that survived 4 general elections.
“You are a hero celebrated home and away; you have not gone Raila Odinga, you have just faded away,” Gachagua concluded.
Gachagua’s statement emerged a few hours after the ODM leader passed away at the age of 80 after suffering a cardiac arrest on Wednesday, 15 October 2025, in the morning in India.
Odinga collapsed during a morning walk within the premises of the Ayurvedic facility and was rushed to Devamatha Hospital, a private hospital in Koothattukulam, where he was pronounced dead, according to a spokesman for the Ayurvedic eye hospital. According to reports, his daughter and other relatives were with him in India.
