President Ruto Bestows Nation’s Highest Honor On Fallen Giant Raila Odinga

The red earth of Kitui bore witness to history on Sunday as President William Ruto shattered precedent, posthumously conferring the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya upon Raila Amolo Odinga, an honor traditionally reserved exclusively for sitting heads of state.

The gesture, announced during Mashujaa Day celebrations at Ithooke Stadium, represents perhaps the most profound political reconciliation in Kenya’s sixty-two years of independence.

Five days after Odinga’s death on October 15 sent shockwaves across East Africa and beyond, Ruto stood before thousands of Kenyans and acknowledged what many had long known but few in power dared to articulate openly.

The man who had contested and lost five presidential elections, who had endured detention without trial, who had been tear-gassed and beaten, who had watched his supporters killed in post-election violence, was not merely a political adversary.

He was, in Ruto’s words, “one of Kenya’s most consequential and impactful sons, a towering statesman, a resolute patriot and a hero.”

The significance of the moment extended far beyond ceremonial tribute. The Order of the Golden Heart, known by its abbreviation CGH, sits at the apex of Kenya’s honors system. Since independence, it has been bestowed upon presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki, and Uhuru Kenyatta during their tenures. Foreign heads of state visiting Kenya have occasionally received it. But never before has a Kenyan who never held the presidency been granted this distinction. Never before has the honor been used to explicitly acknowledge that greatness in service to the nation can exist outside State House.

Ruto’s speech carried the weight of personal history. These were two men whose political trajectories had been intertwined for decades, sometimes as allies, more often as fierce opponents. In 2007, they stood on opposite sides of an election dispute that plunged Kenya into violence claiming over 1,200 lives. In 2022, they faced each other again when Odinga challenged Ruto’s presidential victory in the Supreme Court. Yet on Sunday, Ruto spoke not as a victor addressing a vanquished foe, but as one national figure honoring another.

“It was never about Raila becoming president, it was about Kenya having a good president,” Ruto declared, his voice cutting through the afternoon heat. “He believed that Kenya’s best days were still ahead. He endured prison, persecution and political defeat yet never gave in to bitterness or hopelessness.”

The words represented a remarkable admission from a president whose own rise to power had been built partly on defeating Odinga’s political ambitions. They also revealed a truth that Odinga’s supporters had long maintained but that the Kenyan state had been reluctant to formally recognize: that Odinga’s five decades in politics, his imprisonment by the Moi regime, his role in agitating for multiparty democracy in the 1990s, his acceptance of a power-sharing arrangement after the disputed 2007 election, and his decision to pursue legal rather than violent remedies after losing in 2017 and 2022 had all been expressions of patriotism rather than personal ambition.

The choice of Mashujaa Day for this honor was itself laden with symbolism. Kenya’s national holiday, celebrated each October 20, was established to honor all heroes who contributed to the struggle for independence and nation-building. For years, it had been criticized as overly focused on a narrow group of freedom fighters from the 1950s Mau Mau rebellion, neglecting those who fought for democracy in subsequent decades. By dedicating the 2025 celebrations to Odinga and conferring the CGH upon him, Ruto effectively expanded the definition of who qualifies as a Kenyan hero.

Political analysts watching the ceremony noted the care with which Ruto framed Odinga’s legacy. The president emphasized Odinga’s commitment to national unity, his vision of Kenya as a prosperous first-world nation, and his refusal to succumb to bitterness despite repeated electoral defeats. Conspicuously absent was any detailed mention of the specific political battles that had defined Odinga’s career, the allegations of rigged elections that had followed him, or the contentious handshake between Odinga and then-President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018 that had effectively sidelined Ruto himself for several years.

Instead, Ruto chose to position himself as the inheritor and implementer of Odinga’s vision. “He pledged to continue with the quest to make Odinga’s legacy for Kenya to be a first world country a reality,” invoking Odinga’s long-standing dream of transforming Kenya into an industrialized, food-secure, and economically independent nation. The president outlined priorities including food security, value addition in agriculture and manufacturing, and infrastructure development, all themes that Odinga had championed throughout his political career.

The invocation of food security carried particular resonance. Ruto noted that Kenya spends over 500 billion shillings annually importing rice, maize, and wheat, a figure that Odinga had often cited in his campaigns as evidence of government failure and misplaced priorities. By adopting this language and these concerns, Ruto was not merely honoring a fallen rival but appropriating elements of his political platform.

The presence of Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye as chief guest added an international dimension to the proceedings. Faye, himself a relative newcomer to power who had campaigned on pan-African themes, praised Kenya’s practice of honoring its heroes and described colonial history not merely as “enslavement but also struggle, dignity and justice long delayed.” His tribute to Odinga acknowledged the former prime minister’s stature beyond Kenya’s borders, his role in mediating conflicts across Africa, and his unsuccessful but historic bid to lead the African Union Commission.

Faye’s comments on Mashujaa Day as “an educational tool for transmission of our values” to future generations touched on a crucial question now facing Kenya. How will Raila Odinga be remembered? As a perpetual loser who never achieved his ultimate ambition? As a democratic martyr who was repeatedly cheated of victory? As an elder statesman who prioritized stability over power? Or as something more complex, a figure whose very inability to win the presidency somehow made possible his eventual recognition as a national hero unburdened by the controversies and compromises that inevitably accompany executive power?

The posthumous conferment of the Order of the Golden Heart suggests the Kenyan state has chosen a narrative of redemption and reconciliation. By elevating Odinga to the same honor reserved for presidents, Ruto has implicitly acknowledged that the question of who won which election matters less than the broader arc of service to the nation. It is a generous interpretation of history, one that papers over decades of contested results, political violence, and bitter recriminations.

Yet it is also an interpretation that many Kenyans seem willing to embrace. The seven days of national mourning declared for Odinga, the outpouring of grief that followed his death, and the scenes of rival politicians putting aside differences to honor him all suggest a country eager to move beyond the divisive politics that have characterized much of its post-independence history. The CGH may be a belated recognition, but it is recognition nonetheless.

For Ruto, the gesture carries both political and personal calculations. By magnanimously honoring his former opponent, he positions himself as a unifying figure capable of transcending partisan divisions. He also defuses potential criticism from Odinga’s supporters and the opposition coalition that might otherwise have used the funeral and memorial period to attack the government. Perhaps most importantly, he claims ownership over Odinga’s legacy and vision for Kenya, making it more difficult for opposition politicians to position themselves as Odinga’s true heirs.

The moment of silence observed at Ithooke Stadium for Raila Odinga was brief, but its implications will echo through Kenyan politics for years to come. When the nation’s children read about Mashujaa Day 2025 in their history textbooks, they will learn that a president who defeated Raila Odinga at the ballot box chose to honor him with the nation’s highest award. They will learn that greatness in service can be recognized even when it does not culminate in the highest office. And they will learn that in Kenya’s complex political landscape, yesterday’s rival can become today’s hero, and the boundaries between winner and loser, between president and opposition leader, are sometimes less important than the shared commitment to the nation itself.

As the sun set over Kitui and the celebrations concluded, one fact remained undeniable. Raila Amolo Odinga, who never became president, had achieved something perhaps more enduring. He had become, by presidential decree and national consensus, a hero of the republic. The Order of the Golden Heart resting on his chest, even in death, testified to a truth that transcends electoral politics. Some legacies are built not in State House but in the hearts of the people, and some honors, though delayed, eventually find their rightful recipient.