UPDATE 11:00 a.m.: Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has confirmed that he met Robert Njura, the then-teenager who saved his life in 1991.
Speaking at Capitol Hill, the former premier corroborated the story of the events of the fateful day as narrated by Njura.
"It took us many years to get a new constitution in 2010. That was a long journey; many suffered, some lost their lives and others were tortured. I celebrate this day with my friend Robert Njura whose story appeared in the Sunday Nation recently. It is a true story," he stated.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is set to meet the teenager who saved his life back in 1991.
In a statement he shared on Thursday, August 27, the former prime minister acknowledged that Robert Njura, who was 19 years old at the time, helped him escape to Uganda and it would be a pleasure if the two formally met.
"The journey to a new Kenya has been rough. I am looking forward to meeting Robert Njura shortly, a then 19-year old form three student at Makunda Secondary School in Budalangi who steered me in a rickety boat across Lake Victoria to Uganda as I fled to exile in Norway in 1991," stated the former premier.
In a sit down with Daily Nation, Njura recounted that he had helped Raila, who was dressed as a Legio Maria follower, escape without even realising how his actions were tremendously valuable to the direction the country's politics would take.
He recounted at the time that several young men had turned down the offer to smuggle the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to Uganda.
Reports had emerged that the then President Daniel Arap Moi's regime was looking for ways to assassinate him after discovering that he no longer feared detention.
“Some of the young men in our company refused to go. Okatch Biggy was in town and at the time he was the biggest name in Benga music. But I told Sylvester that I had come here to look for money for my school fees.
“This did not look like a normal assignment because instead of just setting off straight for our destination we headed towards the mainland and eventually docked at a lonely part of the island,” stated Njura.
Njura further noted that during the duration of the journey, he did not know that Raila was aboard his boat until after he alighted, when he was informed of the development.
For that trip, he got paid a substantial amount of Ksh 2,000 and was warned never to speak of what he had witnessed.
He further revealed that he talked about the story for the first time when he relocated to Nairobi in 1993.
His next meeting with the former prime minister was around the same time after he was invited through then Makadara MP John Mutere who he had told the story to.
“I did not talk much. After introductions, Raila took over and narrated the whole story to his colleagues. He gave me his phone number which I still have and told me to call him. He calls me ‘Msamia,” he revealed.
