From His Gravesite, Raila Continues To Influence The Kenyan Politics

The fresh earth at Kang’o ka Jaramogi has barely settled, yet the political tremors emanating from that sacred ground in Bondo are already reshaping Kenya’s power landscape in ways even the veteran opposition leader could scarcely have imagined during his lifetime.

Two weeks after Raila Odinga’s sudden death from cardiac arrest at a hospital in Kerala, India on October 15, 2025 , the unthinkable has happened.

The man who never wore the presidential crown in five attempts is now wielding more influence over Kenya’s political architecture from six feet under than many sitting leaders command from the comfort of State House.

At the heart of this extraordinary phenomenon lies a gravesite that has transformed from a family burial ground into what can only be described as Kenya’s newest political shrine.

The stream of visitors has been nothing short of astonishing.

From dawn until the sun dips behind Lake Victoria, the Bondo-Nyamira road witnesses an endless procession of convoys carrying everyone from powerful governors to humble boda boda operators, from Kikuyu elders seeking reconciliation to Arsenal football fans paying tribute to their fellow Gunner.

The magnetism is palpable and unprecedented. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta made a solemn return to the grave, while Agikuyu elders, religious groups, and even local Arsenal supporters have trooped to pay their respects.

Political delegations from Kisii, Homa Bay, Busia, Kakamega, Nairobi, and remarkably, from the very Mount Kenya heartland that once viewed him with suspicion, have all made the pilgrimage.

But the real story is not merely about mourning.

It is about power, succession, and the dangerous vacuum left by a political colossus whose shadow stretched across four decades of Kenyan history.

In the corridors of power in Nairobi, panic is setting in.

President William Ruto openly admitted at the burial that Raila’s death was “a big blow” to him, acknowledging the veteran politician as his “political teacher, mentor and adviser.”
The confession was startling in its vulnerability.

Ruto needed Odinga.

The ODM holds the second largest share of seats in Kenya’s parliament, and Odinga was the leader who decided most of the party’s policy positions on legislative issues, with Ruto needing Odinga’s control of these votes to advance his agenda. 

The broad-based government that Ruto and Odinga cobbled together after the tumultuous 2022 election now teeters on the edge of chaos.

Without Odinga’s steady hand to keep ODM’s restive troops in line, the coalition threatens to unravel spectacularly.

The Council of Governors visited Kang’o Ka Jaramogi, to condole with the family of the late Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga

Already, factional wars have erupted within ODM over whether to maintain the pact with Ruto or break away and reclaim the party’s opposition identity ahead of the 2027 polls.

In an extraordinary meeting, ODM moved to forestall a succession fallout by endorsing the 82-year-old Oburu Oginga as acting party leader and announced its commitment to remain in Ruto’s broad-based government until 2027.

But the declaration has only intensified the power struggle. Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, while flanked by party officials, announced the party was in the broad-based arrangement to stay, despite his previous insistence that it was Raila’s wish for ODM to field its own candidate in 2027. 

The succession battle is fierce and multi-layered. Within the larger Jaramogi Oginga family, Oburu has assumed leadership of the wider clan, while Raila Odinga Junior has been crowned customarily as heir to his father’s immediate household.

But can either truly fill the shoes of a man who commanded loyalty across ethnic lines, who could mobilize millions with a single speech, who turned every political setback into a stepping stone?

The vultures are circling. Political operators from across the spectrum see opportunity in the chaos. Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper steps forward with the poise of a veteran, while Martha Karua holds her brief for rule of law that can rally urban and professional classes.

Even within ODM, younger turks like Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and his ilk are positioning themselves as the future, challenging the old guard’s cautious embrace of the Ruto government.

Back in Bondo, the political theater continues to unfold against a backdrop of genuine grief.

Local businesses have sprung up overnight, with women selling tea, porridge, and mandazi to visitors, while vendors hawk miniature portraits of Raila, orange wristbands, and flags emblazoned with ODM symbols.

The atmosphere blends mourning with commerce, reverence with calculation.

What Raila achieved in death may prove more consequential than his lifetime struggles.

He has forced Kenya’s political elite to reckon with fundamental questions.

Who inherits his massive support base spanning Nyanza, Western, Coast, and parts of Nairobi? Who will be the voice of opposition when opposition is most needed? Who will dare challenge Ruto in 2027 without the Odinga machine behind them?

ODM faces competing ideological camps: those supporting the broad-based government led by Oburu, Gladys Wanga and John Mbadi; those like James Orengo and Professor Anyang Nyong’o who insist ODM must remain vibrant, strong and principled; and the youth-driven faction demanding a complete break from Ruto. 

The gravesite visits continue unabated.

Charlene Ruto visits the grave of the late Raila Odinga and condoles with the Odinga family in Bondo, Siaya county.

Each delegation that bows before the marble tomb at Kang’o ka Jaramogi is making a statement, staking a claim, seeking legitimacy from a man who can no longer speak but whose silence thunders louder than any speech he delivered while alive.

Raila Odinga may have lost five presidential elections, but in death, he has won something far more enduring.

He has become the ghost at Kenya’s political feast, the absent presence that every ambitious politician must acknowledge, the question that every power calculation must answer.

From his gravesite, Baba continues to shape the destiny of a nation that celebrated him but frustrated him, that revered him but denied him, that needed him even when it rejected him.

The soil of Bondo may hold his body, but his spirit roams free through the corridors of power, unsettling the mighty, inspiring the faithful, and reminding Kenya that true influence transcends the grave.

The 2027 election campaigns may not officially begin for months, but make no mistake, they have already started at that grave in Siaya County, where every wreath laid is a political statement and every prayer whispered is a plea for a share of the Odinga legacy.

Kenya has entered uncharted political waters, and the only certainty is uncertainty.

The man who taught Kenya how to resist, how to question, how to fight for democracy even from prison cells and torture chambers, has left behind a nation struggling to find its voice without him.

At Kang’o ka Jaramogi, the winds still carry that new rhythm. And in those winds, if you listen carefully, you can almost hear Raila’s trademark chuckle, watching the political chess game continue without him on the board, yet somehow still controlling every move.

A cracked glass art work of Raila Odinga by Wicky Mane.