In 2022, at the height of presidential campaigns, Raila visited Kagio, a strategic stop in Kirinyaga County. But unlike the crowds that usually trailed him in other parts of the country, Kagio gave him no fanfare, no songs and no cheers. The town had already chosen its side firmly behind William Ruto and his then running mate Rigathi Gachagua under the UDA wave that swept through Mt. Kenya.
Residents gathered that day not to support, but out of curiosity. Campaign posters were sparse, The mood was stiff, Locals watched or unmoved as Raila attempted to address a reluctant audience. “He spoke like a man hoping to change minds,” one shopkeeper recalls, “but people had already decided.”
For many in Kagio, Raila represented the old guard far removed from their daily struggles and political ambitions. His message of Azimio unity clashed with a strong regional loyalty to Ruto, who was hailed as the hustler rising from the grassroots.
Still, Raila stood tall that day. He addressed a crowd that didn’t respond, He smiled through tense silence and His courage to visit a place where he wasn’t welcome showed the kind of leader he was. Undaunted, defiant and hopeful to the end.
Now that he’s gone, even those who opposed him can’t deny the weight of his loss. Whether loved or criticized, Raila Odinga shaped Kenya’s political soul. And even in Kagio, his memory lingers not for being embraced, but for showing up anyway.
As tributes pour in across Kenya, Kagio remembers him differently. Not with flowers, but with reflection. Not as a hero, but as a man who dared to face rejection in the name of unity.
May Raila Amollo Odinga rest in peace.