ODM Insider Reveals What Raila Told Him to Tell Kenyans Just A Few Days Before His Death

ODM Communications Director Philip Etale has revealed the final message he received from the late ODM leader Raila Odinga before his death in India.

Etale shared the message on his Facebook page on Friday morning, October 16, recounting their last phone conversation.

He recounted that during their last phone conversation, Raila appeared aware of the social media rumours about his health but chose to respond with grace.

The former Prime Minister, Etale revealed, told him to remind Kenyans to pray for those who insult others instead of retaliating.

“In his final words to me, during our last telephone conversation while in India a few days to his untimely death, he said to me, ‘Philip, I can see people writing all manner of negative things about me on social media. Let us pray for them,’” Etale wrote.

Etale explained that he had shared the message at Raila’s request while the ODM leader was still in India, and felt compelled to repeat it during the state funeral service at Nyayo National Stadium on Friday.

According to Etale, Raila’s words reflected his humility and enduring belief in forgiveness even toward his critics. He described the message as a final lesson from a leader who always put the nation above personal differences.

A few days before the long-serving ODM leader collapsed and died in India on Wednesday, rumours had circulated online about his health.

However, Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, Raila’s elder brother, had come out strongly to assure Kenyans that the former Prime Minister was recovering after receiving treatment in India.

Raila's body was flown back to Nairobi on Thursday, accompanied by a delegation of thirty Kenyan leaders led by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

Raila will be laid to rest on Sunday at his family’s resting place in Bondo, Siaya County, in a private burial ceremony.