Image: The-Star
The Azimio Coalition's leader, Raila Odinga, has recovered from the illness that caused him to vanish from view during the three-day protests his team had planned last week.
On Monday morning, Raila's wife, Ida Odinga, told the Star that her husband was on track and conducting business as usual.
“He has recovered well and is out and about conducting his activities. The cold has cleared,” she said briefly when asked about the ODM leader’s whereabouts.
Ida said she could only discuss Raila's health issues and declined to comment on when the former Premier is likely to reappear in public to head the opposition movement.
The former prime minister maintained a low profile for exactly two weeks, relying primarily on social media and proxies to spread his thoughts.
At venues where the opposition engages wananchi, such as news conferences and street protests, the ODM leader has been notably absent.
Ida responded, "There is nothing to worry about," when asked if the former prime minister might be facing any further difficulties given his protracted silence.
Several accounts claim that, at the height of the crackdown, the former prime minister covertly relocated to the Coast.
There was a lot of rumour regarding Raila's whereabouts during the height of the anti-government protests, which targeted his senior lieutenants, including his personal bodyguard James Ogeta.
After receiving an onslaught of questions in the wake of his absence, Raila talked to NTV and reassured Kenyans that he was getting better from a horrible illness.
In order to reassure his followers, Raila stated, "I am currently under the weather, battling a strong strain of flu, thus keeping off public engagements and all meetings."
A number of prominent Azimio figures, including former vice president Kalonzo Musyoka, Jeremiah Kioni, Narc Kenya head Martha Karua, former governor of Murang'a Mwangi Wa Iria, and former secretary of defence Eugene Wamalwa, among others, have been holding meetings with Raila to provide advice.
In contrast to the first protests, where Raila led the troops from the front, the lot was nowhere to be seen during the three-day demonstrations.
They asserted that the action was taken as a result of their security detail, which included Raila, leaving them vulnerable to attack by those repressing protesters.
Ida made her statement during this week's opposition-led rallies against the Finance Act, 2023 and calls for electoral reform.
The ODM leader is being closely watched, just like any other opposition figures who "took cover" during the crackdown, according to government insiders who spoke to the Star.
"By removing his protection, he was prevented from staging demonstrations in the streets. This went against his plans, and you could eventually see that it kept his supporters off the streets, a government source said on Monday, according to the Star.
The government has now dared the opposition to follow through on its promise to hold demonstrations on Wednesday.
Kithure Kindiki, the Interior Cabinet Secretary, challenged the opposition to stage anti-government protests and threatened to deal
He said protesters have been engaging in crime in the name of peaceful demonstrations and assured Kenyans that there is no room for such protests.
"I hear they have again threatened that they would want to go out on a looting spree on Wednesday. We are ready for them. We will deploy from 1am," he said.
"We will make sure that no hooligan, no criminal, no looter gets his way,” the CS said during a tour of Baringo South to review the progress of the operation against bandits.
