Happy Birthday in Heaven, Baba Raila Odinga
A Son’s Tribute to the Man Who Taught Me to Believe
Today hurts in a quiet way.
It is one of those days when the heart speaks before the mouth does. A day when logic steps aside and emotion takes over. Today, many of us are saying the same words, softly, painfully, lovingly.
Happy birthday in heaven, Baba.
Whether spoken as faith, memory, or longing, the message carries one truth. Raila Odinga mattered to us. Deeply.
He was not just a politician I supported.
He was a man I believed in.
A man I voted for.
A man whose courage shaped my politics, my thinking, and my hope for this country.
The Man Who Walked Into Fire So We Could Walk Free
Some people inherit power.
Raila inherited struggle.
His life was not cushioned by comfort. It was hardened by prisons, exile, betrayal, and loss. When others chose silence to survive, he chose resistance and paid the price.
Detention without trial.
Years away from home.
Constant surveillance.
Threats that never stopped.
He carried all of that so loudly that the rest of us could breathe more freely.
Every freedom we casually enjoy today has fingerprints on it.
Some of those fingerprints belong to Raila Odinga.
Why I Loved Him
I loved Raila because he never pretended to be perfect.
He showed us his scars.
He showed us his anger.
He showed us his exhaustion.
And he still stood up.
He did not perform politics. He lived it.
He stood with the poor not because it was fashionable, but because he came from pain. He spoke for the voiceless because he knew what silence felt like.
When he said “the struggle continues,” it was not a slogan.
It was his life.
Why I Voted for Him
I voted for Raila because he never abandoned the people, even when the people abandoned him.
I voted for him because he represented defiance against injustice.
Because he challenged power without fear.
Because he made it okay to question authority.
I voted for him knowing he might lose.
And even in loss, he taught us dignity.
The Weight of His Absence
Today feels heavier because the man who once filled stadiums now fills memories.
People argue about him.
People debate his choices.
People rewrite his story.
But no one can erase what he meant to millions.
You do not inspire this kind of love by accident.
You earn it by sacrifice.
Baba Was More Than Office
Raila did not need State House to become historic.
He delivered the Second Liberation.
He pushed constitutional reform when it was dangerous.
He normalized opposition politics in a hostile state.
He made resistance respectable.
He stood firm when being opposition meant being hunted.
Many who shout today stand on ground he cleared with blood, tears, and years stolen from his life.
A Father Figure to a Generation
To us, he was Baba.
Not because he demanded worship, but because he listened. Because he showed up. Because he carried the anger, frustration, and hope of ordinary Kenyans on his shoulders.
Markets cheered him.
Youth defended him.
The poor saw themselves in him.
Even when tired, even when betrayed, he kept walking into crowds.
That takes courage few will ever understand.
A Birthday That Feels Like a Prayer
Today, some say happy birthday Baba.
Others say happy birthday in heaven.
Both are expressions of love.
Love does not need permission.
Grief does not need logic.
It is okay to miss someone who shaped your life.
It is okay to speak to them even when they are silent.
My Personal Thank You
If I could speak to Raila today, I would say this.
Thank you for choosing the hard path.
Thank you for refusing to kneel.
Thank you for teaching us that democracy is not gifted. It is fought for.
Thank you for showing us that courage is louder than guns.
That ideas outlive bullets.
That resistance has a memory.
Happy Birthday, Baba
Happy 81st birthday, Raila Odinga.
Whether here, beyond, or in the pages of history, your spirit lives on.
You may be gone from rallies and ballots, but you remain alive in the courage you planted.
May your soul continue to rest in peace.
May your legacy continue to speak.
And may Kenya one day fully understand the price you paid for her freedom.
Happy birthday in heaven, Baba.
