‘Who told you?’ – Winnie Odinga recalls Raila’s habit of questioning everything
By Paulette Mboga, September 25, 2026East African Legislative Assembly Member of Parliament Winnie Odinga has recalled how her late father, Raila Odinga, questioned almost everything, saying his curiosity often made people rethink things they were certain about.
The former Prime Minister’s daughter described him as extremely curious and said he did not simply accept information because someone presented it to him with confidence. She explained that even simple conversations with him could turn into a series of questions.
“My father was curious. Extremely curious. You could tell him something confidently, and he would ask why,” Winnie Odinga said on Thursday, September 24, 2026, when she represented her late father at the Nairobi International Book Fair as he was posthumously inducted into the Kenya Publishers Association Hall of Fame.
She said Raila would continue questioning an answer even after someone had explained where the information came from. According to Winnie, his questions could make a person start doubting something they had been completely sure about only a few minutes earlier.
“You would explain, and he would say, ‘Who told you’? You would answer, Then, ‘Have you checked?'” Winnie Odinga said.
Raila wanted people to think
Winnie said she believed her father’s curiosity explained a lot about the kind of person he was. She said he was not interested in having people around him who simply agreed with everything he said.
“By the end of the conversation, you are not sure of something you had been certain about 5 minutes before,” Winnie Odinga said.
She explained that Raila’s approach was not simply about questioning people but also about making them think for themselves. Winnie said he wanted people to examine information rather than accept it without asking questions.
“I think that curiosity explains a lot about him. Baba did not want people to agree with him. He wanted people to think,” Winnie Odinga said.
She also recalled how that habit affected conversations within their family. According to Winnie, Raila’s constant questioning meant that even ordinary discussions could become difficult because he would keep asking questions instead of accepting simple answers.
“Sometimes as his children we wished he would switch thinking because there were no simple conversations,” Winnie Odinga said.
Winnie’s account painted a picture of a father who encouraged people to question what they heard and think beyond the first answer. She said his curiosity was a key part of how he approached conversations.