NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 30 – The family of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga was surprised by his request to be buried within 72 hours of his death, his widow Mama Ida Odinga has revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during a memorial event showcasing Raila Odinga memorabilia, Mama Ida said she had no prior knowledge of the short burial timeline, which is unusual in Kenyan funeral traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t expect Raila to die at this time. It came to us as a surprise, and with it came another surprise that he had asked to be buried within 72 hours. I don\u2019t know when he wrote this message or whether he wrote it in Kenya or somewhere else,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tight schedule forced the family to rush funeral preparations to ensure the request was honoured. Mama Ida expressed gratitude to President William Ruto for intervening and helping the family meet the timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor us to beat that time, we are most grateful to His Excellency President William Samoei Ruto, who stood in strongly to make sure that his will was honoured,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reflecting on her 52-year marriage to Raila, Mama Ida described him as a devoted husband, father, and family patriarch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLiving as Raila\u2019s wife was great fun. We had our good times and bad times, but it was the best thing that happened to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that the family\u2014including the late Fidel Odinga, Rosemary Odinga, Raila Junior, and Winnie Odinga\u2014remains committed to carrying forward Raila\u2019s legacy and fulfilling his vision for Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mama Ida also thanked Kenyans and the international community for their messages of condolence, noting that mourners continue to visit the family homes in Nairobi and Bondo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are still receiving visitors and messages, and our homes remain open,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a related development, President William Ruto recently nominated Mama Ida Odinga as Kenya\u2019s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), pending parliamentary approval. If confirmed, she would play a central role in global environmental diplomacy, with UNEP headquarters located in Nairobi, Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mama Ida is a veteran educator and civic leader with extensive experience in women\u2019s empowerment, education advocacy, and social justice initiatives. She also has business experience, including involvement in East African Spectre, a liquefied gas cylinder manufacturing company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has been recognized with numerous awards, including Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees and Kenya\u2019s highest civilian honour, Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH), for her service to the country and community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mama Ida said she had no prior knowledge of the short burial timeline, which is unusual in Kenyan funeral traditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14288,"featured_media":792048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4625,26],"tags":[42753,1981,491,42751,42755,42752,38323,42754,13454,27727,41906,42756],"coauthors":[2156],"class_list":["post-792116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-national-news","category-top-stories","tag-72-hour-funeral-kenya","tag-featured","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-unep-ambassador","tag-kenyan-civic-leaders","tag-kenyan-opposition-leader","tag-mama-ida-odinga","tag-nairobi-memorial-events","tag-president-william-ruto","tag-raila-odinga-burial","tag-raila-odinga-family","tag-womens-empowerment-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\n