ODM leader, Raila Odinga, on Friday, left residents of Turkana County in stitches, after he cracked a witty joke over the death of Swahili.
The former prime minister, who was speaking at the Turkana Cultural Festival in Lodwar Town, pleaded to be allowed to speak in English for the sake of the visitors from neighbouring countries.
Raila acknowledged that the festival had visitors from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia who did not understand Swahili.
However, before his speech, the Africa Union envoy gave a funny tale about the evolution of Swahili.
“You all now that Kiswahili was born in the Kenyan island of Lamu, before growing up in the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar,” Raila spoke.
He further narrated that it got elderly in Tanzania before catching the flu in Kenya.
A witty Raila went on to narrate that after the illness, the language moved to Uganda where it succumbed and was later buried in Congo.
The former Langata MP had earlier shown his prowess in the local language by greeting the residents in their vernacular.
As he began his speech, Raila sent Uasin Gishu Governor, Jackson Mandago, who was also present at the event, with a message to Deputy President William Ruto, on development projects that the Turkana people needed.
The ODM leader noted that the Jubilee administration needed to find a way of drilling water that had been discovered in the area, in order to avert future droughts.
