Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga began his moving eulogy for his brother, Raila Amolo Odinga, with a profoundly personal admission. He told the mourners that he had not only lost a brother but had lost his dearest companion.

“I have lost my best friend in life. I will never have another friend like Raila.”

He confessed that he stood before the crowd with a heavy heart, struggling to find the words because his best friend was simply gone.

Oburu painted an intimate picture of Raila’s childhood, recalling a boy who was both caring and fiercely principled. He would stand his ground if he felt he was being unfairly treated or “misused,” an early sign of the defiance that would mark his later political life.

He shared two standout anecdotes from their boyhood in Nyamira while they attended Maranda School when their father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, was very strict and expected everyone to pick cotton on weekends when he came back from Kisumu.

When Jaramogi found a young Raila still in bed, he asked him why he wasn’t in the fields. Raila’s response was, “Don’t you know it is very hard to pick cotton? Why don’t you also try to pick it?” Jaramogi, unused to such a challenge, “disciplined young Raila a little” for his forthrightness.

On another occasion, the boys missed a day of school with their mother’s permission. The teacher disciplined them with a caning and expected them to salute him afterwards. Raila flatly refused.

When the teacher called him back for a third beating, Raila stood up to him and told him, “You are caning me for nothing and my mother asked you for permission, so don’t cane me again.”

Despite his rebellious streak, Oburu stressed that his brother loved education and was an exceptional student.

“Raila was always number 1 in class,” he said

He loved sports, especially athletics, and later became a member of the management of the athletics association.

He was a great football enthusiast, a devoted fan of English club Arsenal.

He also served as a patron of Kenyan team Gor Mahia.

The brother’s voice was heavy with emotion as he recounted the most painful chapter of their lives, the 1982 attempted coup and Raila’s subsequent imprisonment.

Oburu recalled visiting his brother in Kamiti Prison, a moment that broke him.

Raila was dressed in a black uniform, for those people who were on death row.

Oburu wept uncontrollably upon seeing him in that uniform, Raila, however, remained calm and confident.

Raila used to laugh and tell him, ‘This is nothing and this will all go.’… He said he was fighting for justice.”

Raila’s commitment to his ideals was absolute. Oburu concluded that even when others were terrified, Raila would “still push his agenda bravely.” He never feared for his life, even in the face of bullets or teargas.

Oburu concluded by offering his gratitude to all who had helped the family, including President William Ruto and various officials, doctors, and family members who had stood by Raila.

He ended with a simple, tearful farewell to his lifelong companion: “Goodbye to my brother, my best friend, my confidant, my advisor.”