Raila Odinga died on his feet: And that is his enduring legacy

ODM leader Raila Odinga addresses mourners at Langi village in Ndhiwa, Homabay county on October 19, 2018. [File, Standard]

Raila Amolo Odinga died just as he lived—on his feet.
There is no other way to frame the departure of an enigma, no other phrase that so perfectly captures the essence of a man who was, for half a century, the nation’s political center of gravity. He served as the pivot around which the country’s political mood fluctuated.

He owned his space and controlled it. He charted his own path and, with a stubborn conviction that infuriated his foes and inspired his followers, he followed it to the very end. He dictated the terms of his life and, it seems, the terms of his death. Raila never shied away from swimming against the current. He believed in his ideas to death, literally.

His life was a testament to the idea that a person can be forged in the crucible of suffering and emerge not broken, but strengthened. For a man who spent nine years in political detention, standing was an act of defiance. For a man who was denied the chance to bury his own mother, standing was an act of profound, silent grief. For a man who lost his firstborn son, Fidel, in the most heartbreaking of circumstances, standing was an act of impossible strength. For a man who lost five presidential elections, standing was his default state.

By the time he lost in his attempt at the top AU seat, staying strong had become his natural disposition. He had already faced his worst, so what was left to fear?

I did not think he would survive the 2013 the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) loss. The disappointment was a physical weight on his psyche, and age was quickly catching up with him. Or so I thought. But he did. He survived 2017. And then the final, in 2022. He never “went to Bondo” to retire, as his detractors predicted.

His diary remained full. He led his party and found time to engage with sitting governments in a complex dance of statesmanship and pragmatism.

Raila always showed up, and fought his silent health battles privately. In 2010, Raila underwent a delicate surgery to treat a subdural hematoma. In 2021, he went down with Covid-19. He survived.

Now we know that Raila was also diabetic and had high blood pressure, conditions he had been battling since as early as 1991.

Still, Raila never kept away. In his later years, one could tell that he was struggling. He walked with difficult, but walked nonetheless. Wherever he was needed, he made it.

Even in his final moments, he was on his feet. He did not spend his last days confined to a bed. Raila died standing.

He survived so many tragedies, burying friends, allies, and family. The last of his notable personal losses was that of his loyal personal aide, George Oduor. His biggest loss, however, was that of his firstborn son, Fidel Odinga, in 2015. He survived.

Raila Amolo Odinga lived his life fully. He fought. He built. He lost. He grieved. He loved. He endured. And in the end, as he had in every chapter of his remarkable life, he faced it on his own two feet. And, for the love of his people, he went to a land far away to take his last breath. He died standing.