The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, Raila Odinga, has showered his wife, Ida Odinga, with praise for her action that saved his life while he was serving a jail term at the Kamiti Maximum Prison.
Raila expressed his love and admiration for Ida, terming her as a strong pillar behind his challenging but relentless political career.
He recounted his ordeal at Manyani Prison, where he was deliberately prescribed the wrong medication by prison authorities after protesting that he was unwell.
His constant altercations with prison wardens, who manned his solitary confinement at Manyani, prompted authorities to transfer him to Kamiti, where his health deteriorated even more.
The former Prime Minister revealed that he used a piece of tissue paper at his newly found Kamiti home to write a message to his wife that he was sick, and had the note smuggled to Ida by a warden friend.
Upon receiving the letter, Odinga narrated that Ida immediately sought prescribed medication from a doctor and smuggled it to Kamiti Prison through the same warden.
He noted that his poor health condition while at Kamiti almost claimed his life, but the medication bought by his wife gave him sudden hope and new energy.
Odinga described this as the moment he cherishes the most, which he fondly shared with women he met at the Catholic University of East Africa on Thursday, November 18.
Raila had met women lobby groups from across the country at the University’s auditorium as he popularized his Azimio la Umoja campaign.
He also highlighted other instances where Ida sacrificed her ambitions to support his turbulent political journey, which saw him walk in and out of prison during the late President Daniel Arap Moi’s regime.
Aside from that, Ida was also sacked as a teacher at the Kenya High School for allegedly communicating with Raila who was imprisoned at Naivasha GK Prison at the time.
Further, she also lost a job with the Ministry of Education for her involvement in the activities of a women lobby group that was pressing the government to release their sons and husbands.
Raila was apprehended and jailed three times between the years 1980 and 1990 by the late President Moi's government for his alleged public incitement and push for multipartism.
