Former Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has paid an emotional tribute to the late Raila Odinga, describing him as “my brother” whose voice “echoed the dreams of millions”.
Mr Musyoka, who served as Kenya’s tenth vice president from 2008 to 2013 during the coalition government in which Mr Odinga was prime minister, posted a heartfelt message following news of his former colleague’s death.
“Rest well in everlasting peace my brother Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga,” Mr Musyoka wrote. “Your voice echoed the dreams of millions, and your heart carried the burden of our nation’s journey.”
The former vice president said Mr Odinga would be remembered globally, adding: “Kenya, Africa and the world will remember you forever. Your legacy will live on in every heart that believes in the promise of a just and united nation.”
Mr Musyoka and Mr Odinga worked together in the grand coalition government formed after the disputed 2007 election, which had plunged Kenya into ethnic violence. Both men served under President Mwai Kibaki in the power-sharing arrangement that helped stabilise the country.
The two politicians also collaborated in opposition politics over the years, occasionally forming alliances in subsequent presidential campaigns.
Mr Odinga, 80, died on Wednesday in India after suffering cardiac arrest. Tributes have poured in from across Kenya’s political spectrum, with President William Ruto describing him as “a true patriot and statesman”.
The former prime minister is expected to lie-in-state at Parliament, with full funeral arrangements to be announced in the coming days.
