Raila: Okoth told me he doubted his survival chances

ODM leader Raila Odinga holds funeral programme of the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth during the funeral service held at Moi Girls Secondary School in Nairobi. [Image: Courtesy]

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has eulogised the late Kibra MP Ken Okoth as a dedicated servant who defied the pains of sickness to serve his constituents selflessly.

While addressing the mourners at Moi Girls Secondary School in Nairobi, where the body of the late legislator was taken for viewing, the former premier narrated how he came to terms with Okoth's sickness.

Raila said that after the 2017 General Elections, Okoth fell ill and was in pain but remained resilient to serve his people. He said Okoth confided in him that he had to move from the US to l Paris to seek for treatment since that was the cheapest option for him.

"He told me that he was diagnosed with cancer and after it became more severe, he told me he suspected that he was not going to live for long," said Raila.

Raila also assured his former constituents that he would be ready to help them whenever in need.

"Ofisi yangu imejaa na watu wa Kibra (my office is full of Kibra residents)," he said.

Raiola, however, did not fail to address the mourners on his dalliance with President Uhuru Kenyatta. He urged them to wait for the recommendations of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and not be swayed by Dr Ekuru Aukot's Punguza Mizigo Bill which was recently cleared to head county assemblies for debate.

 Yesterday, Mr Aukot blamed major political parties of frustrating the Punguza Mizigo Bill in counties. This was after a court stopped its deliberations citing irregularities in clearance of signatures.

Speaking about the Handshake, Raila said that he and President Uhuru and reading from the same script and that their joint intention was to ensure that issues that surfaced in the 2017 Elections were addressed.

He said that their focus was to ensure that election rigging, police brutality and the fight against corruption were addressed.

About the vacant Kibra parliamentary seat, he said he would talk about it later.

Earlier on, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja had appealed to other parties not to field candidates in Kibra as a show of unity and sympathy with ODM which had lost one of their members of parliament in Nairobi.

ODM party had eight MPs in the city namely the late Ken Okoth (Kibra), TJ Kajwang (Ruaraka), Babu Owino (Embakasi East), Tim Wanyonyi (Westlands), George Aladwa (Makadara), Antony Oluoch (Mathare) and Simba Arati (Dagoretti).

Makadara MP George Aladwa warned against early succession politics when he mourned the MP. His sentiments came just days after a section of Kibra constituents said that they would not tolerate any politics before Ken Okoth is buried.

Burial, cremation halted

Earlier on Thursday, a High Court issued an order barring the cremation or burial of the late legislator. This is after Jubilee Party nominated MCA Anne Muthoni Thumbi filed a petition to halt the process as she sought to have her son recognised as late MP's biological child.

In the application, Thumbi accused Okoth's mother Angelina and the widow Monica Okoth of sidelining her.

The order read in part: "It is hereby ordered that in the interim a temporary injunction be and is hereby issued restraining the 1st (Angelina Okoth) and 2nd (Monica Okoth) defendants, either by themselves, their servants or agents, from conducting the burial, interment, cremation and or in any matter whatsoever dispose of the body…"

On Tuesday, Okoth's mother, Amngelina Okoth was categorical that her son did not sire any child out of wedlock.

Okoth was scheduled to be buried or cremated on Saturday after funeral service at their home in Got Rateng’ in Homa Bay County. ?