Mama Ida Odinga addressed the mourners at the memorial service of her husband, the late Raila Odinga, with a mix of personal reflection and measured resolve. Dressed in a black dress and matching flowing hat, she began by acknowledging God’s goodness even amid immense pain, and thanked Kenyans, regional neighbours and the international community for their solidarity.

She said she never imagined the day would come when she would lead the family and the world in his burial. “I never imagined that this would fall on me, to lead the family and the world in burying Raila. I hoped it would be the other way round,” she said. Even so, she declared, “With pain, without lamentation, I accept the will of God.”

In a moment of warmth and light among the sorrow, she recounted how, she and her friends at University of Nairobi were talking about marriage, their aim was to marry men of calm, professional character such as doctors and engineers.

She said: “Out of my group, I was the first to marry. I married an engineer, a man of calmness and reflective character. They all congratulated me because of that. Little did I know I was marrying a political engineer who would proceed to make engineering of Kenya his lifelong project.”

After 52 years of marriage, she said that her view of politics had changed completely, and that if she were given another chance she would still marry him, even knowing in advance he was destined to be a politician.

She described him as a passionate family man who always made time for his wife and children despite the demands of public life.

“Juggling family and public life exerted extreme pressure and demands on us from time to time. I know most of the time Raila was more in political life than in family life, but every time he came home, he gave us what we deserved,” she said.

Mama Ida also recognized the government and President William Ruto for the dignified send-off given to Raila, noting it was the first time the Nyanza region had witnessed an event of such magnitude. She thanked the former President Uhuru Kenyatta for his steadfast friendship with the family.

She closed by reflecting on the late leader’s years of struggle, from detention to exile and affirmed that although he is never coming back, his spirit lives on.