File image of Mama Ida Odinga
Kenyan Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mama Ida Odinga, has taken a swipe at Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi after he suggested that the country should move on from the death of former premier Raila Odinga.
Speaking on Friday, May 15, Mama Ida said the former ODM leader’s name continues to dominate national conversations every day, thanks to his influence.
“We still hear his name every day. There’s no particular day I’ll switch on to listen to the news without hearing his name being mentioned. Every day, it doesn’t matter what time of the day,” said Mama Ida.
She went on to draw reference from William Shakespeare and renowned African scholar John Mbiti to explain why Raila’s memory remains rooted in the country’s history.
“Shakespeare said no life lives forever, and a dead man rises never, but at the same time, Prof Mbithi’s book on African religious studies, he says that so long as people are remembering you and mentioning your name, then you are the living dead.
“When he talks about the living dead, I think he is talking about Raila, Jaramogi, and the great people who have left us physically, but their spirit is here with us,” Mama Ida added.
Her remarks come days after CS Mbadi said the ODM Party should manage it poitics and move on from Raila Odinga’s passing away.
The Treasury CS went on to argue that the ODM party does not belong to the family of the former Kenyan prime minister.
“Baba is no more. This is the post-Raila era. We must be candid, we must be forthright, and we must chart our way forward. Where is that Baba now to give us evidence whether he said or he did not say?” Mbadi posed.
