Kenya woke up to a storm moments after Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga spoke insensitively on Raila Odinga’s death. A storm brewed not in Parliament or protest, but in language. Governor Kahiga’s remarks cut deep, not only for their insensitivity but for the timing and the arrogance with which they were delivered.
It was right, even necessary, that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party rose to defend decency. The country needed a reminder that moral boundaries still exist, that grief must be respected, and that leadership calls for restraint.
But somewhere between outrage and overreaction, the message lost its discipline.
What began as a call to order slipped into emotion. Statements from ODM’s top ranks, instead of calming the public, took a confrontational tone.
Phrases such as “Gachagua should never set foot in Bondo” dominated headlines. The effect was immediate and unfortunate. The moral high ground ODM held in the morning began to shake by midday.
It is ironic that a party founded on democracy, dialogue, and tolerance momentarily mirrored the same intolerance it sought to condemn. Calling out hate must never sound like a new form of hate. Demanding decency must never descend into defiance.
Kenya is walking through a fragile season. Raila Odinga’s death left a vacuum not just in leadership, but in the moral compass of the nation. His ability to disagree without disintegrating relationships was rare. His calm during storms set him apart.
Mutahi Kahiga’s words struck at that calm. But ODM’s response, however justified in anger, needed to restore that very calm, not compete with it.
To call for order is to model it. To condemn division is to speak unity, even when wounded.
True leadership in this moment is not measured by volume but by vision. It is the courage to steady the nation when others stir it. It is the wisdom to separate moral duty from emotional reaction.
If ODM wishes to honour Raila Odinga, it must return to his discipline, the discipline to listen, to reason, and to rise above provocation and if Governor Kahiga seeks redemption, it must come through humility and action.
Kenya does not need louder voices. It needs steadier ones.
As Raila himself often said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.” Justice now demands order, real order, guided not by emotion, but by example.
Bishop Charles Okombo of Full Gospel Churches of Kenya spoke to TV47 Digital exclusively.
“The sentiments of Kahiga are retrogressive to progress of unity,” Okombo, the national tressurer of Full Gospel Churches of Kenya reacted, “However, man can always fault in his undertaking. Therefore let’s find it in our hearts to forgive him and allow him and Gachagua to come and mourn Raila in Bondo. Raila Odinga loved everybody including his haters when he was alive,” he advises.
When emotions takes over, leadership erodes.
What was witnessed in ODM is ironic, apprehensive, lacks leadership and could risk the party it’s hard-earned membership. Moreover, it strikes raw nerves among the party faithfuls whose membership was influenced by Raila Odinga’s own charm and charisma.
“Leaders must guard against negative emotions because of the bigger picture of the society. It’s always important to restrain and think before talking,” Bishop Okombo warns.
