What was meant to be a defining moment in Siaya County’s economic transformation turned into a day of grief, disbelief and abandoned ambitions when news of Raila Amolo Odinga’s death swept through the grounds of a major investment conference in October 2025.
The Siaya International Trade and Investment Conference (SITICO) was expected to bring together government leaders, business executives and investors to explore opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, energy and the blue economy. Instead, the gathering was overtaken by a national tragedy that left delegates stunned and organisers with one of the most difficult decisions of their careers.
On October 15, 2025, as exhibitors put the finishing touches to their displays and guests assembled at the Siaya National Polytechnic grounds, news began circulating that the former Prime Minister had died while in India.
At first, the whispers were difficult to reconcile with the atmosphere of expectation that had surrounded the event. Siaya had spent months preparing to showcase its economic potential to investors, hoping to convert its natural resources and strategic location in the Lake Victoria region into jobs, businesses and sustainable growth.
Then came official confirmation.
The mood changed almost instantly. Conversations gave way to shock, anxiety and mourning. What had been designed as a platform for economic opportunity became a gathering place for people struggling to comprehend the loss of a leader whose influence extended far beyond his political constituency.
According to Siaya County Secretary Elizabeth Adongo, some senior guests were already seated in the VVIP pavilion when the news broke, while exhibitors outside continued preparing their stands, initially unaware of the unfolding tragedy.
“Immediately the official statement was released, people were wailing everywhere,” Adongo recalled, describing the confusion among guests who had been waiting for the conference to begin.
Her recollection captured the extraordinary speed with which the day’s agenda unravelled. Within moments, the county’s carefully planned investment showcase had become secondary to a profound national moment of mourning.
A summit built around high expectations
The conference had been planned as a major opportunity for Siaya to attract capital, establish strategic partnerships and present investment-ready projects to prospective financiers.
President William Ruto was expected to officially open the gathering on October 16, while Raila had been scheduled to preside over the closing ceremony on October 17.
His involvement was significant. The veteran politician had helped bring key stakeholders into the planning process, joining Governor James Orengo and county officials in efforts to secure high-level participation and investor interest.
Adongo said the organisers had met Raila at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi on September 22, 2025, to brief him on their preparations. During those engagements, he had confirmed the planned programme involving the President and himself.
For Siaya, the conference represented more than a ceremonial gathering. It was an attempt to turn years of development aspirations into concrete economic commitments.
Investors were expected to examine opportunities across sectors capable of reshaping livelihoods in a county where agriculture, fishing and small businesses remain central to household incomes.
Sugarcane development, industrial processing, agricultural value addition, renewable and other energy investments, and the blue economy were among the areas offering prospects for new economic activity.
The sudden loss of Raila therefore struck at a moment when the county was preparing to make its case to some of the country’s most influential business players.
When mourning took precedence over business
With delegates and investors reeling from the news, county and national government officials were forced into consultations over whether the event could proceed.
The answer became clear as the scale of the loss sank in.
The conference was suspended, with its plenary sessions and side events postponed to a later date. The decision reflected the prevailing mood of grief and the close personal and political relationships many participants had shared with Raila.
In the words of Adongo, it was the day Siaya stood still.
The abrupt cancellation was a stark reminder that even the most elaborate economic plans can be overtaken by events that transcend business, politics and official protocol.
For the exhibitors who had invested time and resources in preparing their displays, and for the delegates who had travelled expecting days of negotiations, the conference ended before it could officially begin.
But beneath the disappointment lay a deeper reality: the county had lost not only a prominent political figure but also a key participant in an initiative intended to expand its economic prospects.
The economic opportunities that survived
Although the conference was cancelled, the months of preparation were not entirely lost. Adongo said the engagement had helped Siaya identify bankable projects, establish relationships with prospective investors and prepare memoranda of understanding that were expected to be signed during the summit.
Among the opportunities highlighted were sugarcane development and plans for factory construction, alongside investments in agriculture, the blue economy and energy.
A proposed nuclear power project was also among the energy opportunities being profiled, underscoring the county’s ambition to attract investment beyond its traditional economic activities.
For residents, the significance of these initiatives lies in whether they can eventually translate into tangible benefits: employment for young people, reliable markets for farmers, better incomes for fishing communities and new opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Yet the cancellation also left an important task unfinished. Projects identified before the summit would still need sustained negotiations, financing, implementation and accountability to deliver their promised benefits.
An investment conference can open doors, but it is the agreements implemented after the delegates leave that ultimately determine whether ordinary households experience meaningful economic change.
Raila’s influence beyond the political arena
Raila’s role in the initiative also reflected his broader influence on development debates in the Lake Victoria region.
Adongo linked his legacy to the promotion of devolution and infrastructure development, including the Port of Kisumu and satellite ports at Usenge, K’okach, Luanda Kotieno and Wichlum.
Such infrastructure has the potential to strengthen regional trade, improve transport links and support fishing and other lake-based economic activities.
For Siaya, the tragedy therefore carried a dual significance. The county lost a prominent political ally at a critical moment, while the investment programme he had helped advance faced the challenge of moving forward without his participation.
Still, the foundations laid before his death offered a possible route forward.
Adongo said discussions were continuing on rescheduling the summit and that investors had expressed willingness to return in Raila’s honour.
That commitment, if translated into concrete action, could give the aborted conference a second life.
A legacy measured by what happens next
The story of SITICO is ultimately about the collision between personal loss and collective ambition.
On one side was a county eager to attract investment, expand its economic base and create opportunities for its people. On the other was the sudden death of a towering national figure whose presence had helped bring political leadership and business interests around a shared undertaking.
For those who witnessed the events of October 15, the memory is likely to endure: the unfinished exhibition stands, the bewildered delegates, the emergency consultations and the tears that replaced the optimism of the morning.
But Siaya’s economic aspirations did not disappear with the conference.
The real test now lies in whether the relationships established, projects identified and agreements prepared before the tragedy can be converted into lasting development.
If investors return, proposed factories materialise, farmers gain dependable markets and lake-based businesses expand, the work initiated before Raila’s death may yet produce the outcomes organisers had hoped to announce at the summit.
For a county that saw its biggest investment gathering halted by grief, that would be a powerful way to honour a fallen statesman: not merely by remembering the day everything stopped, but by ensuring that the development agenda he helped advance continues.
Because while Raila’s death brought Siaya’s investment summit to a standstill, the county’s economic journey did not have to end there.
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