Citizen TV’s Group Editorial Director, Linus Kaikai, has shared details of his final phone conversation with the late Raila Odinga, just two days before the former Prime Minister’s passing — a moment that has deeply moved many Kenyans.
Speaking on Wednesday, October 15th, Kaikai revealed that he spoke with Odinga on Sunday evening, October 13th, at 6:32 p.m., describing their seven-minute exchange as warm, upbeat, and full of optimism.
“I called to ask how he was doing, and I heard someone who was cheerful and completely normal,” Kaikai recounted. “He even started asking me about matters of the country.”
Kaikai’s revelation adds an intimate and emotional layer to the national mourning that gripped the country following Odinga’s sudden death on Wednesday morning at the age of 80.
According to reports, the veteran opposition leader suffered a cardiac arrest during a morning walk at an Ayurvedic wellness facility in Kerala, India, where he had been undergoing treatment.
Following the news of his passing, President William Ruto announced that Raila Odinga will be accorded a state funeral, honoring his decades of service to Kenya.
A national funeral committee, co-chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga, has been established to coordinate the burial arrangements.
In recognition of Odinga’s towering legacy, President Ruto also declared a seven-day national mourning period, with flags flying at half-mast across Kenya and in all diplomatic missions abroad.
Raila Odinga will be laid to rest on Sunday, October 19th, 2025, at his Opoda Farm in Bondo, Siaya County, beside his late mother, Mary Ajuma Odinga, in accordance with his final wish.
