A photo collage of Azimio la Umoja Leader Raila Odinga (Left) and a protest in Kisumu (Right).
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Azimio la Umoja Leader Raila Odinga, on Thursday, April 13, revealed that the police officer killed during mass action in Kisumu was his relative.
While addressing a group of supporters and members of civil society at Ufungamano House, Raila added that he was well acquainted with Officer Ben Oduor.
"The young officer who was knocked down by a police vehicle was my grandson, whose mother is my niece," Raila stated.
Raila lamented that the police were complacent in bringing to book those culpable for his death.
Azimio supporters running away with a roadblock stationed at State Lodge Road in Kisumu County on March 10, 2023.
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The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader also shared intrinsic details about Oduor's journey in life, particularly his career as a police officer.
According to Raila, as a young man, Oduor desired to serve his country as a police officer, and the ODM Party Leader was instrumental in helping him get a chance at the National Police Service.
"I am the one who actually took him to the police during his recruitment," Raila revealed.
Oduor was attached to Keroka Police Station in Nyamira but was deployed in Kisumu on Thursday, March 23, to quell the mass action when he met his death.
Raila wondered why Oduor's death was initially misreported by police officers who claimed a stone thrown by protesters.
Initial reports indicated that Oduor and his colleagues were overwhelmed by surging rioters at the Jamia Supermarket area.
In a statement shared by the Inspector General of Police and supported by Kisumu police boss, Noah Mwivanda, the deceased was hit with a stone using a catapult during the process.
However, this report was later disputed after pathology analysis revealed that Oduor was crashed as police escaped the surging protesters in Kisumu.
Raila claimed there was a deliberate attempt to cover up the truth about the police officer's death and many more victims.
Azimio la Umoja leadership, led by Raila Odinga (Centre) during a meeting at Ufungamano House in Nairobi on Thursday, April 13, 2023.
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"Unfortunately, the police went and arrested innocent people who committed no offence," Raila stated.
To put more pressure on President William Ruto's government, Raila declared that he will announce another round of countrywide mass actions immediately after Ramadan.
"Do we agree that mass action and negotiations should go hand in hand?" Raila asked the Ufungamano crowd.
"Immediately after the Ramadhan, I will announce when the countrywide mass actions will return," Raila assured, warning that the negotiations will go concurrently with the protests.
