Widow of Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai attends Raila’s burial in Bondo, honouring decades of iconic friendship, opposition alliance
Elizabeth Macheka Tsvangirai joined mourners at Opoda Farm, where she spoke fondly of the enduring friendship between the two opposition icons who shared parallel struggles for democracy, justice, and freedom in Africa.
The widow of Zimbabwe's late Prime Minister and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, on Sunday attended the burial of her husband's long-time ally and friend, former Kenyan Premier Raila Odinga, in Bondo, Siaya County.
Elizabeth Macheka Tsvangirai joined mourners at Opoda Farm, where she spoke fondly of the enduring friendship between the two opposition icons who shared parallel struggles for democracy, justice, and freedom in Africa.
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"With me is Mrs Tsvangirai, Her Excellency Elizabeth Macheka Tsvangirai. She has arrived from Zimbabwe to mourn with me," said Ida Odinga, Raila's widow, acknowledging the strong personal and political bond between their families.
Macheka said she felt compelled to be in Kenya to "stand with Ida and the nation" as they mourned a man she described as "a great statesman and father of democracy whose influence went beyond Kenya."
Both Raila and Tsvangirai were towering opposition figures who challenged entrenched regimes at great personal cost — facing imprisonment, intimidation, and state repression.
The late Raila Odinga and the late Morgan Tsvangirai. Both Raila and Tsvangirai were towering opposition figures who challenged entrenched regimes at great personal cost. (Photo: Raila Odinga)
Their alliance was rooted in a shared belief in democracy and people's sovereignty across Africa.
When Tsvangirai died in February 2018 in South Africa after a long battle with colon cancer, Raila flew to Zimbabwe to attend his funeral in Buhera.
There, Raila delivered an impassioned eulogy to thunderous chants of "Odinga! Odinga!" from the crowd, praising his fallen comrade as a "fighter who never wavered in pursuit of the people's freedom."
Saturday and Sunday's moment in Bondo thus brought the story full circle — with Tsvangirai's widow standing beside Ida Odinga, paying tribute to another African statesman who embodied the same spirit of resilience and reform.
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