An emotional Ruth Odinga has recounted the painful final moments of her brother, Raila Odinga, revealing that she was the one who made the heartbreaking decision to stop his life-support machines.

Speaking in Kisumu, Ruth said that as she watched the opposition leader take his final breath, one thought consumed her — that Kenya had lost one of its greatest sons.

“When I laid him down and stopped the machines, I said, ‘Kenya has lost.’ Kenya is lost — I don’t know where it’s going without Raila,” she said tearfully.

Ruth described Raila’s final moments as heavy and heartbreaking, saying he died believing that a section of Kenyans, particularly the youth, no longer wanted him around.

“Raila died knowing that Gen Zs preferred him dead,” she said. “You are the same people who are now pouring love when he is gone. How about when he was well and you were saying ‘akufe’? He died only knowing that you people told him you preferred him dead.”

She expressed disappointment that many young people who had previously criticized the veteran politician are now expressing love and admiration after his passing.

“He would have loved to see this love when he was alive,” Ruth said. “For those who said hurtful things when he was still with us, it was really wrong. But for those showing love now, maybe you didn’t know the reality would be this. The loss is for Kenya.”

Raila Odinga, popularly known as Baba, passed away on Wednesday, October 15, marking the end of an era in Kenya’s political history. His death has left the country mourning a man whose life’s mission was to fight for democracy, justice, and unity. He will be laid to rest next to his father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, at Kang’o ka Jaramogi.