Raila Odinga/HANDOUTODM will mark the first anniversary of the death of its founding leader, Raila Odinga, with a month-long programme spread across the country.
It will culminate in a memorial service at his Bondo home on October 15.
The programme, which begins on Friday, will take ODM supporters and Raila’s family through a series of regional commemorative events.
This came as the party seeks to celebrate his political legacy and contribution to the country’s democratic struggle.
The climax will be at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo, Siaya county, where the family will hold the main memorial service on October 15, exactly one year after Raila died in India.
President William Ruto is expected to attend the ceremony and is also expected to unveil a memorial facility that has been under construction at the site.
The anniversary came at a time Raila’s legacy continues to shape political alliances and debates ahead of next year’s election.
ODM’s programme will begin on Friday with a nationwide candle-lighting exercise, but the party has planned several other activities in different regions in the weeks that follow.
On October 9, the party will hold a major memorial rally in Kakamega, bringing together supporters from Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia.
Family-led activities will then run from October 10 to 15 before the Bondo memorial.
The programme will resume after the Bondo event, with ODM scheduled to hold activities in Garissa on October 17, followed by events in the Coast region on October 18 and 19.
The party will then move to Kajiado on October 21 and Turkana from October 23 to 25.
ODM deputy party leader Abdulswamad Nassir urged Kenyans to participate in the commemorations.
His rallying call is that Raila’s contribution to the country’s democratic space deserves to be remembered.
Nassir said he would personally light a candle on Friday as part of the nationwide exercise.
“This Friday, October 2, at exactly 6pm, I will light a candle for Baba. Not simply because we mourn him, but because gratitude deserves remembrance,” the Mombasa Governor said.
ODM national chairperson Gladys Wanga described Raila as a towering political figure whose actions had left a lasting mark on Kenya.
“One year ago, Kenya lost a giant. We lost our leader, the enigma. Wherever you are, in Kenya or across the globe, light one candle for Baba,” she said.
The candle-lighting will be held in different parts of the country, with supporters in Nairobi expected at Uhuru Park.
Lang’ata MP Phelix Odiwour, popularly known as Jalang’o, said the Nairobi gathering would run from 3pm to midnight.
At the Coast, supporters will gather at Treasury Square in Mombasa, while ODM members in Nakuru will assemble on Kenyatta Avenue.
But the wider programme is expected to focus increasingly on Raila’s political legacy as the anniversary approaches.
Raila was one of the country’s longest-serving opposition leaders and remained a central figure in the country’s politics for decades.
He served as Lang’ata MP from 1992 to 2013 and held Cabinet positions under presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.
He also served as Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition Government between 2008 and 2013.
His political career was marked by prolonged campaigns for political reform, constitutional change and greater political competition, culminating in his central role in the country’s 2010 constitutional reform process and several presidential elections.
The anniversary has, however, exposed differences over how Raila’s legacy should be remembered and who should participate in the commemorations.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said he would not attend events where those he accused of denying Raila victory in previous elections would use his death to advance their political interests.
“I cannot stomach a situation where those who denied Raila victory are coming here to dance on his grave and build a big Mausoleum,” he said in Bondo on Sunday.
He said he would instead return to Bondo on his own at a later date.
The remarks introduce a political dimension to an anniversary programme that ODM has presented primarily as a celebration of Raila’s contribution to Kenya’s democracy and Pan-Africanism.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the events are likely to provide an important platform for political leaders and Raila’s supporters to revisit his legacy and the political alliances that emerged during his final years.
The Bondo ceremony is expected to draw national political leaders, members of Raila’s family, ODM officials and supporters from across the country.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The month-long programme will therefore serve both as a commemoration of ODM’s departed leader and an opportunity to keep his political legacy at the centre of national conversation, especially ahead of the next general election.
