Bondo, Kenya —
Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah has joined Kenyans in mourning the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, recalling a deep and unusual bond with the Odinga family that began decades ago in London.
Speaking emotionally at Raila’s home in Bondo, Siaya County, on Saturday morning, Wajackoyah recounted how he once served as a food taster for Raila’s father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, during the family’s years abroad.
“He is a source of inspiration to me, and I have followed Raila everywhere,” Wajackoyah said. “I knew his father. I was his food taster in London, England.”
The law professor’s revelation drew gasps from those present as he described the level of trust and loyalty that defined his relationship with the Odingas.
“If I could have eaten and died, then he as well could have gone,” he added quietly. “If I went to that level of eating poison on behalf of somebody, that shows you how close I was to that family.”
A call from the past
Wajackoyah revealed that he was in the United States when news of Raila’s death reached him. He immediately boarded another flight home to join mourners in Bondo.
“I had travelled to the US, but when I arrived there, I learned that he had died, and I had to take another flight back home,” he said.
He remembered Raila as “an honest man” who lived with “immense integrity” — a description that echoed the sentiments of many across Kenya mourning a leader often described as an enigma.
Their final conversation
The Roots Party leader disclosed that he had spoken to Raila only days before his death. Though he declined to share details, he said the two had a long, reflective conversation.
“Last Thursday, I spoke to Raila when I was in Kilifi, and we deliberated on so many things which I cannot say at the moment,” he recalled. “Had I known that he was going to pass, I couldn’t have left.”
Raila Odinga died on Wednesday, October 15, reportedly from cardiac arrest. His burial is set for Sunday, October 19, at his family home in Bondo, Siaya County — the same grounds where his father, Jaramogi, was laid to rest.
As the country prepares for the final farewell, Wajackoyah’s recollections offer a glimpse into the lesser-known, deeply personal ties that surrounded Kenya’s most enduring political family.
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