'We almost got killed in 2023,' Kalonzo pays emotional tribute to Raila in Bondo

Wiper Patriotic Front Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka led a high-profile delegation from Eastern Kenya to Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo to pay tribute to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Speaking at the solemn gathering, Musyoka delivered an emotionally charged eulogy, recounting moments of political struggle and personal danger shared with Odinga.

He described a harrowing incident in 2023 during anti-government protests over the high cost of living, where Mr Odinga and he narrowly escaped what he alleged was an assassination attempt.

“We have been in the trenches with my brother. In 2023, when Kenyans were saying the cost of living was unbearable, Raila and I nearly got killed in Embakasi South. It was like the orders were given that day to us, mainly Raila, because we counted 10 bullet attempts on him. If he didn’t have an armoured vehicle, we would have buried him in 2023,” said Kalonzo.

Musyoka condemned past derogatory labels used against Odinga and his family, asserting that the late leader was a man of faith and sacrifice. He described the late Odinga as a man of God who laid his life for the sake of the country.

“We are burying a man of God who laid his life for the sake of this nation. This is not a mganga or a mchawi lying here. Nobody should ever use those names again or associate the Oginga Odinga family with those things,” he urged.

"Don’t be surprised that the whole nation will keep on coming here and I know that the Kikuyu nation for example, will come, our brother Riggy G would want to come, and those who spoke badly spoke for themselves."

He praised Odinga’s enduring influence, especially among Kenya’s youth, and declared that his legacy would outlive his physical presence.

“Odinga will be more powerful in death than he was alive because he inspired the young Kenyans and Gen Zs and the history of this nation cannot be written without a prominence being given to Raila,” he stated.

Kalonzo, who was accompanied by a host of religious and political leaders, said the late Raila Odinga, “Will be more powerful in death than when he was alive, saying that he inspired the Gen Zs and the history of this country cannot be written without a prominence of place being given to him.”

Siaya Governor James Orengo, who hosted the delegation, welcomed Musyoka and acknowledged his long-standing political partnership with Odinga across multiple election cycles.

“In 2013, 2017 and 2022, you worked with Raila Odinga, and some people forget that the minority in parliament is led by ODM and Wiper and so we should never forget that legacy,” Orengo said.

Raila’s family, led by Raila Odinga Junior and his wife Ida Odinga, welcomed Kalonzo and his delegation, as they lauded the long-term friendship between him and the late Odinga.

“My father was a Pan-Africanist and a national leader, and he welcomed everyone, which is why we as a family are doing as well,” Raila Jr said.

Mama Ida added, “Kalonzo has been a friend of Baba for many, many years. When we see him come here, he is grieving because he has come to mourn his friend.”