Maurice Ogeta, the man who spent decades as Raila Odinga’s closest security aide, has opened up in a deeply emotional television interview about what he witnessed during the former Prime Minister’s final moments in India.
Speaking on KTN News, Ogeta described the morning of October 15 at an Ayurvedic treatment facility in Kerala where the veteran opposition leader had been receiving care.
The two were going through their familiar daily routine — a morning walk along a 50-metre circuit around the villa grounds. Raila had set himself a target of five laps.
The walk that changed everything
The first lap went without incident. Midway through the second, Raila simply stopped walking. Ogeta, just a metre away, heard a faint sound something like a soft “Aai” or “Aih” which turned out to be his boss’s last word.
When Ogeta asked whether his back or leg was troubling him, there was no reply. Raila’s gaze appeared distant, as though looking past everything around him, and then his body gave way and fell against Ogeta.
“The patron died walking. He did not die in bed. It was unfortunate because I was only about a metre away from him,” Ogeta said.
An ambulance was called to transfer Raila to hospital, a journey of five to ten minutes. What unfolded inside that facility left a permanent mark on Ogeta.
CPR, defibrillators and a sinking feeling
Ogeta watched as doctors performed CPR with considerable force, enough to make him fear for Raila’s ribs. He pulled aside Dr. Lumi to raise his concern, and was told that in certain situations, broken ribs during resuscitation are an accepted consequence.
“During this time, so many things were happening or going through my head because, one, the way CPR was being done, I think I got even a bit worried. I had to ask Dr. Lumi, like, even if he gets back to himself, I think we’ll still admit him here because maybe some of the ribs will be broken because the way it was being done,” Ogeta said.
The moment that truly shook him came when he noticed medical staff preparing what appeared to be a religious send-off beside the resuscitation area — a Bible, a candle, and a piece of cloth arranged nearby.
“By the time they brought the electrical shock, I was like, no. Within a very short time, I see some place they are being prepared. They bring this thing… they put a bible on top, yeah, I see that thing being placed there, then I see a bible, I see a candle, like no, I see a certain kitamba (cloth), then I’m like, Dr. look, are you sure we are okay?” he narrated.
Doctors at Devamatha Hospital in Koothattukulam confirmed that Raila arrived with no detectable pulse or blood pressure following a cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead on October 15, 2025, aged 80.
Ogeta, who broke down when Raila’s body landed at JKIA the following day, described the late leader as far more than an employer, a mentor, a friend and a father figure.
View this post on Instagram
