The Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) Secretary for Planning and Economic Affairs, Peter Mbae .
Says the growing number of visits to the late Raila Odinga’s Bondo home are not just condolence calls but calculated political moves.
Mbae said the visits show how Raila’s influence in Kenyan politics remains strong even after his death.
“In life and in death. It’s been three weeks; every day, people feel he went so fast, and just by visiting the grave, something has happened.
Whatever visits you are seeing now are because you cannot divorce Baba from politics, being who he was,” he said.
Mbae explained that while some visitors may have personal or family reasons for visiting.
Others are using the moment to position themselves for future political gain.
He pointed to visits by prominent leaders such as Martha Karua and the expected one by Kalonzo Musyoka as examples of visits carrying deeper political meaning.
“Look at Martha Karua; it was not just going to pay respects. She was going to say, ‘Hey, I came for the burial;
I didn’t have a chance to eulogize Baba.’ As Raila’s 2022 running mate, it was a political statement,” Mbae said.
He noted that Kalonzo’s speech during Raila’s burial drew excitement from the crowd.
Showing that many of Odinga’s supporters still view him as a loyal ally.
“Kalonzo was cheered when he spoke in Bondo because people are going back and saying this man stood with Raila in 2013 and 2017.
He was humiliated in 2022, but he’s now making a statement that he’s the one to inherit the consciousness of ODM and the Azimio fraternity,” he explained.
Mbae also commented on recent viral moments involving Nuru Okanga, a devoted Raila supporter who claimed the late leader appeared to him in a dream.
“Nuru Okanga went and caused a lot of drama; maybe he wanted permission to go or raise his profile.
Saying that Raila appeared to him in a dream and was furious because he was buried with the whisk.
The kind of drama that’s around Raila Odinga is just too much. I think somebody should document this,” Mbae remarked.
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