BONDO, Kenya, Oct 19 — A burst of laughter rippled through the crowd at Raila Odinga’s funeral when his nephew, Jaramogi Oranga, quipped that he wished he had shared in the “porridge” former President Uhuru Kenyatta had joked about drinking with the late leader.
“If I had known I would speak, I’d have gone to ask Uhuru for that uji he took with Raila,” Oranga said, wiping his brow as mourners and dignitaries chuckled through their grief.
Oranga — the son of Dr. Wenwa Akinyi Oranga, Raila’s sister — captured the crowd’s attention with a mix of nervous honesty and humor, earning chuckles from mourners, dignitaries, and family members alike.
“Because now I cannot stand here and say that I am not afraid to speak. To tell the truth, I am sweating — real sweat — up here.”
The remark sent the audience into laughter, recalling former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s own lighthearted tribute to Raila two days earlier at Nyayo Stadium.
Uhuru had amused mourners during a State Funeral in Nairobi on Friday when he recalled moments he shared a drink with Raila.
“After work, sometimes when we were relaxing a little, chatting with Raila, we used to be given something small… Are you laughing?” he asked, pausing as the crowd erupted.
“That small thing I’m talking about is porridge (uji) or tea,” he added with a grin.
The comment — initially interpreted by many as a playful reference to alcohol before Uhuru clarified — quickly became a running joke among Kenyans mourning the late opposition chief.
Raila’s nephew picked up the thread, extending the humor by imagining how he, too, could use the same “porridge” to calm his nerves before speaking.
“If I said no [to speaking], you wouldn’t even know me. My mother is here, and I also want to live up to 80. So I said, let me just speak,” he joked, drawing more laughter from the audience.
Despite the levity, Oranga’s tribute soon turned heartfelt as he reflected on Raila’s enduring legacy of courage, democracy, and unity.
“You know Raila is a person — maybe you loved him or you didn’t, but you had to respect him. Just like how we love opposing the government — it’s him who gave us that courage. He made it possible for us to challenge authority,” he said.
“I don’t want to hear anyone say he loved tribalism. There was no such thing.”
Concluding his remarks with humility, Oranga thanked the mourners and family members gathered for honoring Raila’s memory.
