Few moments in recent Kenyan public life have been as raw as the one Winnie Odinga has now shared with the world.
In a deeply personal BBC segment shared on her TikTok, she described the gut-wrenching experience of accompanying her father, Raila Odinga’s remains on a flight back from Mumbai to Nairobi on October 16, 2025.
Winnie is the youngest of Raila’s four children. The BBC piece, which blends aerial footage, flight-tracking graphics and archival family photographs with a seated interview, captures the grief of a daughter who had no warning of what was coming.
Winnie Odinga’s last moments with Raila
Winnie revealed she had spent two weeks with her father in India shortly before his death, and that he had appeared to be in good health throughout that visit.
“I was with him in India for two weeks, and he was perfectly fine. I was as shocked as everybody,” she said.
More than 20,000 people tracked the flight carrying Raila’s body home, making it the most-followed flight of that day. For Winnie, however, the journey was nothing short of agonising.
“I wanted my mum. I wanted to be home. But, oh, god, like, how have I come home? I just felt horrible. I was not meant to bring him back in this manner,” she said.
She described her father as someone who was “out of this world” as a parent, noting that he took care of his children, protected them and taught them throughout their lives.
Upon landing, Winnie was taken to a VIP room where she reunited with her mother, other family members and dignitaries, including President William Ruto.
Throughout the flight, she had been holding onto Raila’s iconic hat, the headwear that had become one of his most recognisable symbols.
The moment the hat became everything
“I had just been so protective of the hat. I just felt that the hat belonged to my mother. Yeah, I think that’s the moment it became real,” Winnie said.
The video has moved thousands of Kenyans, many of whom are still coming to terms with the loss of a man who defined opposition politics for decades.
While captioning the video, Winnie said:
“Bringing him home was the hardest thing I have ever done. I remember being so protective of his hat the whole way. It was his; it still had him in it, and it was the one thing I could still protect. I only let go when I could deliver it safely into the hands that had helped him wear it so many times before.”
Watch the video below:
Here are some of the comments from social media users:
@Baffredoh wrote:
“I have never healed…Rest in peace Baba.”
@Odinga Updates commented:
“Our hero will always remain in our heart. Keep resting, papa 💔😭. The king is dead but long live the crown.”
@KAKE PAUL said:
“Wueh Sifuna ni machozi tuu ..Anywei rest in peace ✌️🪦 Baba.”
@Winnie Debate added:
“Death robbed as a father 😢😢 And on his last days, the police shot people who wanted to see their father. 😨”
@Mairah wrote:
“We are still heartbroken 💔. We lost a gold. ❤️🙏”
@empress drippy noted:
“October will never be the same again. 😱😱”
@Gorreti said:
“Winnie, we still love you, whatever the station, we love you so much, our second lady.”
