Emotional Mashujaa Day fete at Ithookwe Stadium as Raila’s favourite song plays
The Mashujaa Day celebration in Ithookwe Stadium, Kitui, was filled with color and pomp, honoring the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga by playing a past recording of the late former PM Raila Odinga singing his favorite song, Farewell Jamaica.
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The celebration, which was led by President William Ruto on Monday, October 20, 2025, saw everyone gathered pause for a moment as the past recording took the airwaves in Kitui County.
This comes just a day after Kenyans laid to rest the man President William Ruto described as a man of peace, courage, and unyielding conviction, whose life was defined by an unwavering commitment to justice, democracy, and national unity.
Raila Odinga was laid to rest in Bondo on Sunday, October 20, 2025, in an event graced by thousands of mourners.
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His return to Bondo was not merely a homecoming; it was the embrace of a grateful republic bidding farewell to one of its greatest sons, a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of justice, democracy, and the enduring unity of our beloved Kenya.
Raila’s favourite song
Raila’s melancholic voice singing ‘But I’m sad to say I’m on my way’ now lingers not just as a song, but as an eternal farewell for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader who breathed his last in Kochi, India, after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Kenyans are also revisiting the song, with some viewing the lyrics as a premonition of his death, while others are singing along to reflect on Raila’s enduring fight for democracy.
During the state funeral at Nyayo Stadium on Friday, October 17, 2025, President William Ruto recalled his camaraderie with Raila Odinga, a man who helped stabilise his government at the height of the Gen-Z-led protests, by singing Jamaica Farewell.
As the soft, nostalgic melody filled the air, the crowd, citizens, and various leaders joined the Head of State in song, their voices blending in tribute to a man whose life and struggle defined Kenya’s democratic journey.
At the time, the retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, on the other hand, was captured dancing freely, singing along, and enjoying the lyrics of the song while Raila’s daughter, Winnie Odinga, brought life to Nyayo Stadium by singing Harry Belafonte’s tune.
Belafonte’s 1956 ballad is about departure and longing, a sailor leaving behind his beloved Jamaica, torn between beauty, memory, and home.
