Kalonzo Musyoka, one of Raila Odinga’s most consistent allies, arrived in Bondo, Siaya County, ahead of the former Prime Minister’s final send-off.
During the State Funeral in Nairobi, Kalonzo openly expressed frustration at Deputy President Kithure Kindiki for failing to acknowledge him and denying him an opportunity to speak. He revealed that he had cancelled a planned trip to Europe to stand with the Odinga family during their moment of grief.
Kalonzo’s political journey has long been intertwined with Raila’s. Their relationship traces back to the early 2000s, when they both played key roles in the reform movements that birthed the National Rainbow Coalition. After the coalition’s collapse, Kalonzo was among the founding members of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). However, internal disagreements saw him form ODM-Kenya, which later aligned with President Mwai Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU), earning him the position of Vice President.
Despite past political fissures, the two leaders reunited under the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) in 2013 and again under NASA in 2017, where Kalonzo served as Raila’s running mate in two elections. Through betrayals, shifting alliances, and the turbulence of Kenyan politics, Kalonzo remained one of Raila’s most loyal partners.
His arrival in Bondo carries heavy symbolism—the end of a political brotherhood that shaped Kenya’s opposition politics for nearly two decades. Despite recent tensions, Kalonzo’s decision to abandon his foreign trip underscores a final gesture of loyalty to a comrade with whom he shared both triumph and heartbreak.
It is, fittingly, the closing act in one of Kenya’s most storied political partnerships.
