In the unprecedented round-the-clock media coverage of the death of Raila Amolo Odinga, the People Daily dug up a fascinating fact. “As the curtain falls on former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the media mourns him as the only politician who never sued the media for defamation,” the paper reported on October 17.
Of course, there are many other politicians who have never sued the media but given Raila’s massive dominance of news coverage for over a generation, his tolerance was remarkable. “In his four-decade political career, Raila is the only politician who was constantly scrutinised by the media and to some extent the scrutiny went beyond the normal political accountability to his family and private life,” PD stated.
To be sure, Raila sometimes got irritated by bad press. In 2019, for instance, this publication called him out for threatening The Standard over a story that said his luxury vehicle was among 18 top-of-the-range cars impounded by detectives over fraudulent registration claims. A couple of months earlier, he had hit out at the Nation for reporting that he would run for president in the 2022 election.
Raila raised eyebrows in 2023 when he called for a boycott of Radio Africa Group, “particularly The Star newspapers, who have become enablers and facilitators of this brutal regime.” But he called off the boycott a few days later after uproar.
On the whole, Raila was a darling of journalists and a great supporter of media freedom. He was so much a fixture in the news that even his silence made the headlines. Raila stories sold newspaper copies and harvested eyeballs for TV and ears for radio stations.
“A towering figure in Kenya’s democratic struggle, Odinga was a steadfast champion of media freedom and free speech, recognising them as essential pillars of a strong democracy,” the Media Council of Kenya said on October 15.
“Odinga’s advocacy for the free press was resolute, particularly during challenging times such as government closures of major televisions stations and protests, where he condemned police attacks on journalists, reinforcing the crucial role of the media in upholding democratic principles and rallying support for journalists’ rights.”
Indeed, street protests associated with Raila have over the years witnessed some of the worst police attacks on journalists, exposing state intolerance of media freedom and other democratic ideals Raila cherished and indefatigably fought for.
The media was a critical component of Raila’s long struggle for democracy, tirelessly carrying his voice, images and messages to the remotest corners of the Republic. Through coverage of his press conferences, political rallies, speeches, press statements, social events, and official work here and around the world, the media helped make Raila a household name in Kenya.
It is not surprising, therefore, that from the moment the news of his death broke, nothing else of significance was reported in Kenya across all news platforms. But it was not only the Kenyan media that honoured this giant of democracy. The AFP described Raila’s death as “a political earthquake that could transform politics in the east African nation.” The New York Times mourned him as a “towering figure in Kenyan politics”. The BBC eulogised him as “one of Kenya’s most influential and enduring political figures” and “a towering pan-Africanist”.
Raila Amolo Odinga has ascended to the pantheon of the nation’s greats. He is a political saint by public acclamation. Raila joins the eminent sons and daughters of Kenya, placed right below the Almighty God in the Preamble to the Constitution, which honours “those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land.”
That line is not only about the past but also remains open to include the present and future – because the struggle for freedom and justice endures forever. It is what generations of Kenyan heroes have sacrificed for, to the point of shedding their blood, since the struggle for independence to this day.
One of the many lessons that Raila’s illustrious political career teaches Kenyans, more so journalists, is that the struggle for a better society must never stop, regardless of the gains made or losses suffered. Soldiers never stop preparing for war just because there is no threat on the horizon. They are always battle-ready, refining their skills, acquiring the latest arsenals, looking out for new threats.
That’s eternal vigilance. It is the same with democracy. There is no time that we can have a perfect government, so that civic vigilance becomes unnecessary. Democracy always faces many threats every day. So, aluta continua. Bado mapambano. The struggle continues. Kwaheri, Raila.
See you next week!
