{"id":123406,"date":"2025-10-19T15:11:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T15:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/19\/ruto-mourns-raila-as-a-personal-loss-promises-a-strong-odm-in-govt\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T15:11:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T15:11:37","slug":"ruto-mourns-raila-as-a-personal-loss-promises-a-strong-odm-in-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ruto-mourns-raila-as-a-personal-loss-promises-a-strong-odm-in-govt\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruto mourns Raila as a personal loss, promises a strong ODM in govt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 19 \u2014 President William Ruto has described the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a profound personal loss, saying the late opposition leader was not only a towering figure in Kenya\u2019s political history but also a man with whom he had forged a close bond in recent months.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking at Odinga\u2019s burial ceremony at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Bondo, Siaya County, President Ruto acknowledged widespread speculation about the political implications of Odinga\u2019s passing but said the loss had affected him far beyond politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany commentators in newspapers and the media say this is a big blow for me. Yes, it is. It is a very big blow,\u201d the President said in a somber address.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks underscored the remarkable transformation of a once-bitter rivalry into a partnership that had reshaped Kenya\u2019s political landscape, emphasizing Odinga\u2019s enduring influence on national unity, governance, and reform.<\/p>\n<p>Ruto pledged to safeguard the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) \u2014 Odinga\u2019s lifelong political vehicle \u2014 saying a strong and vibrant opposition was essential to Kenya\u2019s democracy and economic stability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to assure ODM members that, according to Baba\u2019s wishes, we will respect and support ODM,\u201d Ruto affirmed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cODM must remain strong as we go into 2027, because that is how we will have a strong government. Political parties are the foundation of any meaningful democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The President said strong and accountable institutions, including robust political parties, foster investor confidence and governance stability \u2014 key ingredients for Kenya\u2019s economic growth.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks come at a time of transition within ODM, which faces internal divisions and leadership debates following Odinga\u2019s death. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 19 \u2014 President William Ruto has described the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a profound personal loss, saying the late opposition leader was not only a towering figure in Kenya\u2019s political history but also a man with whom he had forged a close bond in recent months. Speaking at [&hellip;]<\/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-123406","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\/123406","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=123406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}