Former US President Barack Obama has paid tribute to Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga who died in India earlier this week and is due to be buried on Sunday.
Obama described Odinga as a leader who “put the interests of his country ahead of his own ambitions.”
The former US president, whose father hailed from Siaya County on the shores of Lake Victoria – the same region where Odinga was born and will be laid to rest, recalled Odinga’s lifelong commitment to freedom and democracy.
“Raila Odinga was a true champion of democracy. A child of independence, he endured decades of struggle and sacrifice for the broader cause of freedom and self-governance in Kenya,” Obama said in a statement.
“Time and again, I personally saw him put the interests of his country ahead of his own ambitions,” he added.
Obama praised Odinga’s courage and willingness to pursue peaceful reconciliation “without compromising his core values,” adding that his legacy would resonate far beyond Kenya’s borders.
“Through his life, Raila Odinga set an example not just for Kenyans, but across Africa and around the world. I know he will be missed,” the statement said.
“Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and to the people of Kenya.”
Obama has made several publicized visits to Kenya, first in 2006 as a US senator from Illinois, again in 2015 as president, and most recently in 2018 when he visited his step-grandmother Sarah Obama’s home in the village of Kogelo, Siaya County.