Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s aide Dennis Onyango has revealed that Raila shared with him his wish to be buried within 72 hours of his death.
According to Onyango, Raila revealed to him after the passing on of former Chief of Defence Forces General Francis Ogolla.
Speaking during an interview at Citizen TV, Raila’s aide said Raila, however, did not take the remarks seriously at the time and assumed Raila was speaking casually.
Onyango also said that the conversation took place while he was in Migori.
“When General Ogolla died, I was in the village in Migori. Raila wanted to go to Ogolla’s home and he told me the guy wrote in the will that he be buried in 72 hours. Then he said that is the way I would also want to be buried,” he said.
However, Dennis never imagined that Raila had formally included the directive in his will.
“I told him nobody would accept those things. I thought he was joking. So when I got to Karen and I was told it was 72 hours, I thought this guy, he was serious,” Onyango added.
Onyango further revealed that discussions about death never appeared to trouble the former Prime Minister, who remained focused on his political work, ideas and plans for the future.
He recalled speaking to Raila while he was undergoing treatment in India, saying the former Prime Minister sounded upbeat and optimistic about his recover.
In fact, Raila informed him that he planned to make a brief stop in Dubai before returning to Nairobi.
