{"id":123151,"date":"2025-10-15T13:09:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/ruto-tasks-mudavadi-to-lead-delegation-to-retrieve-railas-body-from-india\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T13:09:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:09:55","slug":"ruto-tasks-mudavadi-to-lead-delegation-to-retrieve-railas-body-from-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ruto-tasks-mudavadi-to-lead-delegation-to-retrieve-railas-body-from-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruto tasks Mudavadi to lead delegation to retrieve Raila\u2019s body from India"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 \u2014 President William Ruto has dispatched Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to lead a high-level delegation to India to oversee the repatriation of the body of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, who died in Kochi on Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his national address on Wednesday afternoon, President Ruto announced that the Government of India has offered to facilitate and cover the repatriation process following Kenya\u2019s formal request.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the request of the Government of Kenya, the Government of India has graciously offered to facilitate the repatriation of our former Prime Minister\u2019s remains,\u201d President Ruto said.<\/p>\n

The delegation, led by Mudavadi, includes Cabinet Secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen (Transport), Hassan Joho (Mining and Blue Economy), National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung\u2019wah, Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, and members of the Odinga family, among them Mama Ida Odinga and Senator Oburu Odinga.<\/p>\n

The team will coordinate with Kenyan diplomats and Indian authorities to ensure the smooth transfer of the late opposition leader\u2019s remains to Nairobi.<\/p>\n

Detention, constitutional reform and handshakes: Raila Odinga bows out at 80 \u00bb Capital News (capitalfm.co.ke)<\/a><\/p>\n

President Ruto declared a seven-day period of national mourning following Odinga\u2019s death, describing him as a foremost statesman and one of Africa\u2019s greatest sons.<\/p>\n

Flag at half-mast <\/h2>\n

He announced that the national flag will fly at half-mast across the country and at all Kenyan missions abroad in honor of the late opposition leader, who passed away in Kochi, India.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya, Africa, and the world mourn the passing of a giant of democracy, a fearless freedom fighter, and a tireless warrior for good governance. Raila Odinga\u2019s name will forever [be] etched in the story of our Republic \u2014 a story of struggle, sacrifice, courage, and hope,\u201d Ruto said.<\/p>\n

The President confirmed that Odinga will be accorded a State Funeral with full honors, in recognition of his decades-long service to the nation.<\/p>\n

He announced the formation of a funeral committee co-chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga to coordinate all arrangements in consultation with the Odinga family.<\/p>\n

President Ruto praised Odinga\u2019s lifelong commitment to justice, equity, and freedom, recalling his central role in Kenya\u2019s struggle for multi-party democracy and constitutional reform.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a colossus of Kenya\u2019s modern politics \u2014 a patriot of uncommon courage, a Pan-Africanist, and a unifier who sought peace and unity above power and self-gain,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n

Ruto urged Kenyans to unite during the mourning period, noting that Odinga\u2019s passing should serve as a reminder of shared national values and destiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us come together, as he always urged us to do \u2014 not as rivals, but as brothers and sisters bound by a shared destiny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The President announced a suspension of his public engagements during the mourning period and encouraged other public leaders to do the same as a mark of respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have lost a beacon of courage, a tower of principle, and a father of our democracy. May his soul rest in eternal peace,\u201d Ruto stated.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 \u2014 President William Ruto has dispatched Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to lead a high-level delegation to India to oversee the repatriation of the body of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, who died in Kochi on Wednesday. In his national address on Wednesday afternoon, President Ruto announced that the Government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}