Editor's Review

Mama Ida denounced claims that Oburu was in critical condition, stating that he was not very sick.

Kenya's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ida Odinga,  has provided an update on ODM Leader Dr Oburu Oginga's health.

Speaking during the late Raila Odinga's anniversary celebrations on Thursday, October 15, Mama Ida confirmed that Oburu is alive.

She further denounced claims that the Siaya Senator was in critical condition, adding that the doctor had directed him to limit his activity as he recuperates.

"Allow me to convey apologies from Dr Oburu Oginga. Dr Oburu is not feeling well, but he is not very sick.

"He is alive, but the doctors who are looking after him have said that he should go slow and not to come to a rowdy rally like this," she stated.

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A file photo of Mama Ida Odinga with the late Raila Odinga's bodyguard Maurice Ogeta

Mama Ida opened up about how difficult life has been for the Odinga family since the former Prime Minister's departure. She intimated that she and her children still hope that they will hear his footsteps coming into the house.

The matriarch added that no sooner had Raila passed on than the Odinga family was thrown into mourning again, which made October 2025 one of the family's darkest moments.

"This past year has not been very easy for us. Forty days after Raila passed on, we lost another member of the family. These two losses were too much for the family. That is why, if you see that the family is not as excited, you should know that it has been very heavy on our hearts," she stated.

Earlier, Royal Media Services Chairman Dr S.K Macharia eulogised Raila as a president that Kenya needed but never had.

Macharia revealed that he met Raila and Oburu through their father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, in 1992, when he was running for president. He intimated that Jaramogi instructed him to take care of his sons in the event that he did not live long.

He also recounted that, after Raila lost the 2022 General Election, the former Prime Minister and Oburu visited him at his home to console him. 

“In the 2022 election, when Raila did not make it, he and Oburu came to my house to cool me down. They told me not to worry. You can see what a human being we had in Raila,” he added.