By Dorothy Musyoka
The Raila Odinga Secretariat has dismissed claims circulating on social and traditional media regarding the health of former Prime Minister and ODM Party Leader, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, terming them as baseless and politically motivated.
In a statement issued on October 5, 2025, the Secretariat’s spokesperson Dennis Onyango accused a political formation associated with impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, alongside Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa, of spreading deliberate misinformation on Odinga’s health.
According to the statement, the same team was behind a “frenzy of misinformation” earlier this year during Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship.
“The misinformation is broadcast by the same team that went frenzy against Hon. Raila’s bid for chairmanship of the African Union Commission earlier this year.Gachagua and Kalonzo have co-opted sections of the traditional media that are happily picking feeds from bloggers,including AI-generated images and broadcasting then as some kind of investigative breaking news,” read the statement.
The Secretariat noted that sections of traditional media had picked unverified reports from bloggers and AI-generated images, broadcasting them as breaking news.
“The hope of this team then and now is to bully Hon. Raila to provide a back for them to ride on in their struggle against President William Ruto,” the statement read in part.
Clarifying the facts, Onyango affirmed that Odinga is in good health and has always been open about his medical matters when necessary.
He recalled instances when Raila publicly informed the country about his hospitalization in June 2010 while serving as Prime Minister, and again in 2021 when he contracted Covid-19.
“Hon. Raila travelled out of the country on Friday evening one of the many trips he has made this year and definitely not the last,” the statement said, emphasizing that he had not travelled to Europe as some bloggers claimed, and that he is not indisposed.
The Secretariat reiterated Raila Odinga’s unwavering commitment to the Broad-Based Government, adding that he remains steadfast in his belief that Kenya’s challenges require unity and compromise in the national interest.
“We understand his opponents’ frustration with this,” the statement concluded.