Monday, October 24, 2022 – The cruel hand of death almost snatched former Prime Minister Raila Odinga last year.
This was revealed by his lastborn daughter, Winnie Odinga, who lifted the lid on one of the closely-guarded secrets of Raila’s family.
Speaking during an exclusive interview, Winnie disclosed that her father nearly slipped away from his family and political supporters in March last year, but was twice rescued from the hands of death just in the nick of time.
According to Winnie, COVID-19 almost killed Raila were it not for his doctors who did everything in their power to save his life.
This came at a time Raila’s allies and supporters were looking forward to the launch of his fifth presidential bid.
After contracting COVID-19, Raila was admitted to the Nairobi Hospital. After undergoing intense treatment that was coupled with several tests and observations, he was eventually released to proceed home for self-quarantine.
In a statement to newsrooms at the time, his personal doctor, David Olunya, assured Kenyans that Mr. Odinga was “responding well to the treatment he is receiving and remains upbeat”.
The ODM leader spent the following days in bed isolated and weak, according to his daughter.
So serious was his condition that he had to skip a planned ceremony at State House to mark the third anniversary of the March 9, 2018 Handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
And even after he pulled through from the death scare, Mr. Odinga was weak as aptly observed by former Meru County Governor, Kiraitu Murungi, who in one of his newspaper articles in April last year wrote, “I watched with pity, a frail-Raila Odinga, who was being treated for a Covid-19 attack being literally dragged out of bed,” Mr. Murungi observed with reference to a public event attended by Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Then, the former premier was almost inaudible as he spoke.
It is while in his isolation room that Mr. Odinga nearly passed away. With teary eyes, Winnie recalls how she walked into the room to find an oxygen mask had dropped off from her father’s face.
In panic and haste, she picked and fixed it back, quickly restoring the condition of the patient, who only seconds earlier lay helpless gasping for breath.
At another point, she stepped into the isolation room to find the father looking blank and motionless. His temperature had shot through the roof and she quickly stashed paracetamol tablets into his mouth with a view to reduce his body temperature. Medical experts contend that this was yet another timely life-saving measure.
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