The Kenyan government on Tuesday formally transferred control of the official memorial website for the late opposition leader Raila Odinga to his widow, Mama Ida Betty Odinga, closing a chapter in the national mourning period.
Broadcasting and Telecommunications Principal Secretary Stephen Isaboke led a delegation of ten senior officials to the Odinga family residence, where he presented railaodinga.go.ke, a platform created by a multi-agency team under instructions from Chief of Staff Felix Koskei.
By the handover, the site had attracted 15,000 visitors and carried 556 tributes, among them 140 messages from heads of state and global leaders, 148 from local and international organisations, eight from private companies and 260 from ordinary Kenyans.
Mama Ida expressed profound gratitude for the gesture, describing the website as a lasting and dignified tribute to her husband’s extraordinary life.
She thanked President William Ruto’s administration for the respectful coordination of mourning events and for ensuring the family felt the nation’s solidarity.
The visiting Principal Secretaries, including Julius Bitok (Education), Judy Pareno (Justice), Carren Agengo (Children), John Ololtuaa (Tourism) and Aurelia Rono (Parliamentary Affairs), conveyed condolences on behalf of the entire public service and pledged continued support to the family.
Isaboke said the government had fulfilled its duty to provide a dignified digital space where Kenyans and the world could honour the man widely regarded as the father of Kenya’s multiparty democracy.
The website will now be managed by the Odinga family, preserving thousands of messages and photographs as a permanent public archive of Raila Odinga’s legacy.
