By Johnson Oduk
One year after the death of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, Kenya is once again confronted with a question that goes beyond mourning: what should be done to preserve the ideals and values associated with one of the country’s most consequential political figures?
Raila died on October 15, 2025, in India at the age of 80, bringing to an end a political journey that stretched across more than four decades. His death was followed by a state funeral and a national outpouring of grief that cut across political, ethnic and regional boundaries.
President William Ruto described him as a giant of democracy and a champion of justice, while the country accorded him the highest civilian honour, the Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart, First Class.
Yet the most meaningful tribute to Raila cannot be found in monuments, speeches or annual commemorations.
It must be found in the preservation of the principles for which he spent much of his political life fighting.
Raila’s political journey was deeply intertwined with Kenya’s transition from one-party rule to multiparty democracy and the long struggle for constitutional reform.
His detention during the one-party era, his participation in the opposition movement and his subsequent political battles placed him at the centre of the country’s democratic transformation.
His contribution to the constitutional reform process that culminated in the 2010 Constitution remains one of the most significant parts of his public legacy.
Kenyans therefore have a responsibility to protect the institutions and freedoms that emerged from that difficult journey.
The first task is to defend the Constitution. Raila’s legacy should not be reduced to a political brand or an electoral slogan.
The principles of constitutionalism, devolution, accountable government, protection of rights and equitable distribution of resources should remain bigger than any individual or political party.
Second, the Odinga family and political movement must resist the temptation to turn his legacy into a family inheritance. Raila built his influence through decades of political struggle, organisation and engagement with Kenyans.
Protecting what he stood for requires opening space for a new generation of leaders, including those who may disagree with one another but share a commitment to democratic politics.
Third, Kenyans should preserve the history of the country’s democratic struggle. Young people who did not experience the one-party era may easily take today’s freedoms for granted. Raila’s story should therefore be taught not merely as the biography of a politician but as part of Kenya’s journey towards political pluralism, constitutional government and devolution.
The Odinga family also has an important role. It can establish institutions that preserve documents, speeches, correspondence and other records of Raila’s public life. Such an archive would allow future generations to study his contribution critically — including both his achievements and the controversies that accompanied his long political career.
Most importantly, protecting Raila’s legacy means keeping Kenya bigger than political personalities.
Raila’s final political years demonstrated that a leader could move from fierce opposition to dialogue and national cooperation. His political alliances changed over time, but his central place in Kenya’s public life remained.
A year after his passing, the greatest tribute would therefore be a Kenya in which disagreement does not become enmity, political competition does not destroy national cohesion, and constitutional rights are defended regardless of who occupies State House.
Raila Odinga spent his life seeking to change Kenya. The responsibility now belongs to Kenyans to ensure that the gains of that long struggle are not lost.
