WHEN A GIANT FALLS
What Raila Odinga’s Death Means to a Generation That Grew Up Hearing His Name By Ojiambo Florence When I first heard that Raila Odinga was gone, I didn’t believe it. His name has lived in every conversation, in classrooms, in matatus, and in every argument that ended with, “But Raila said…” It was a name that carried weight, echoing across decades of Kenya’s political history. To me, and to many in my generation, Raila was not just a politician; he was a presence. Hearing that he was gone felt like a pause in Kenya’s heartbeat, as if the country itself needed a moment to breathe. Legacy and Loss According to reports, former Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga passed away on October 15, 2025, in India after suffering a cardiac arrest during a morning walk. He was 80 years old. His death marks the end of an era, a man who spent more than four decades shaping Kenya’s history, from the struggle for multiparty democracy in the 1980s to his...