India bids farewell to Raila Odinga, a Kenyan statesman with deep ties to the country
Raila's regular visits to the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Clinic in Kerala became a symbol of the growing medical exchange between Kenya and India.
A Kenya Airways aircraft carrying the body of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is en route to Nairobi from Mumbai, following a solemn handover by the Indian Air Force at Mumbai Airport.
Draped in the Kenyan flag, the casket was escorted by an Indian bearer party, an unmistakable gesture of respect from a nation Raila long considered his "second home."
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Raila, who died in India while receiving treatment, had a decades-long bond with the country and its leader, Narendra Modi.
The two first met in the late 2000s, when Raila was Kenya's Prime Minister and Modi served as Chief Minister of Gujarat.
"Deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend," Modi posted on X, describing him as "a towering statesman and a true friend of India."
Raila's relationship with India was as personal as it was political.
The body of Raila Odinga being placed in a flight. (PCS)
He often praised its medical culture and traditional Ayurvedic medicine, which he credited with helping his daughter Rosemary regain her eyesight after a brain tumour left her partially blind in 2017.
His regular visits to the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Eye Clinic in Kerala became a symbol of the growing medical exchange between Kenya and India.
The veteran opposition leader, who served as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013 and ran for the presidency five times, died aged 80 after collapsing during a morning walk at a private Ayurvedic hospital in Kochi.
Indian media reported that he had suffered a mild stroke in Kenya and travelled to Mumbai for further treatment before transferring to Kerala.
Born into one of Kenya's most consequential political families, Raila Odinga was the son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the country's first vice-president.
Over his half-century career, he came to embody Kenya's democratic struggles, earning both reverence and rivalry in equal measure.
As the Kenya Airways flight crosses the Arabian Sea bearing his remains home, India's farewell serves as a final tribute to a man whose life bridged continents and whose political journey mirrored the enduring connections between Africa and Asia.
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