A few days after his burial in Siaya, the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will receive a special memorial prayer service in Uganda, led by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda.
The prayer service will be held on Tuesday, October 28, and will be led by the Most Reverend Dr Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu at the All Saints Cathedral in Nakasero, Kampala.
The ODM party took to social media to express their gratitude to Captain Mike Mukula, National Chairman of the Pan-African Movement Uganda chapter, and JB John Baptist Ouma, an aspiring Ugandan politician, for organising the service.
“A special memorial prayer service in honour of our departed leader, Raila Odinga, will be held tomorrow at the All Saints Cathedral Church in Uganda,” it noted, adding: “Special thanks to Captain Mike Mukulaa, Baba’s friend and his team for this honour. We are grateful cc JB John Baptist Ouma.”
This latest development comes amid Raila’s long-standing ties to Uganda, which began when he sought refuge in the East African nation in the early 1990s to escape political persecution under the regime of the late former president, Daniel arap Moi.
While evading the authorities, Raila fled Nairobi, travelled via Kisumu to Bondo, hid, and then crossed Lake Victoria into Uganda at night.
He is said to have disguised himself as a Catholic priest named Father Augustine from Machakos to avoid being recognised by officers.
From his rural home in Bondo, he was transported to Sirongo Beach, where he boarded a small boat and navigated Lake Victoria under moonlight.
After crossing into Uganda, he continued by bicycle and bus through hilly terrain to reach Kampala, with an alias of Joseph Ojiwa, where he registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is from there that the UN managed to arrange his political asylum in Norway.
From then on, Raila maintained a good relationship with Uganda, striking a rapport with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni up to the time of his demise.
Raila passed away on Wednesday, October 15, after suffering a cardiac arrest in India, where he had gone to seek treatment.
He was buried on Sunday, October 19, at the Kang’o ka Jaramogi homestead metres away from his father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
