Royal Media Services (RMS) chairman Dr SK Macharia has described the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a committed democrat and a great Kenyan, saying his death was a personal loss to him and his family.
Speaking at Raila’s memorial at Migwena grounds in Siaya County on October 15, 2026, Macharia said he had maintained a close relationship with the former prime minister and his family for decades.
“What this family feels about the loss, I and my family equally lost a great friend, a great Kenyan and a president that Kenya needed but never had,” he said.
Macharia recalled how Raila and his brother, Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, visited his home to console him after Raila lost the 2022 presidential election.
He said the gesture demonstrated Raila’s concern for others, despite the political challenges he faced.
“In the 2022 election, when Raila did not make it, Raila and his brother Oburu came to my house to cool me down. It is not me who went to Raila. It is he and his brother who came to my house,” Macharia said.
He traced his relationship with the Odinga family to his first meeting with Raila’s father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, during a visit to Kisumu General Hospital alongside former president Jomo Kenyatta.
Macharia said the encounter left him convinced of Jaramogi’s commitment to Kenya.
“I saw a man committed to this country,” he recalled.
He said Jaramogi later asked him to look after his sons, Raila and Oburu, should anything happen to him.
“Jaramogi told me he has two sons, Oburu and Raila Odinga, and I am older than them. In case he doesn’t live long, I take care of them,” Macharia said.
He added that the request helped shape his enduring relationship with the two brothers and their families.
Macharia said he had continued to support Raila throughout his political career, including providing resources for his campaigns.
He recalled supplying a helicopter, a pilot and fuel at his own expense during the last election.
“You can imagine, for a man of my calibre, in the last election providing Raila the helicopter, a pilot and all the fuel to do the campaign at my cost,” he said.
The RMS chairman also revealed that he had spoken to Raila two days before his death.
During the conversation, he said, the former prime minister told him he was well and expected to return to Nairobi within two or three days.
Macharia said the call followed a request by Raila for him to travel to Siaya to support Oburu at a function involving the county government.
“He told me that he is ready to come back to Nairobi in the next two or three days. He has finished the mission that he had gone to and is well,” Macharia said.
He said the news of Raila’s death came as a shock, given their recent conversation and the assurance that the former prime minister was recovering well.
Macharia said Raila’s commitment to democracy and the country’s interests had earned him lasting admiration.
He said the former prime minister’s death was not only a loss to Kenya but also a deeply personal loss to his family, which had regarded Raila as a close friend for decades.
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