Wiper Patriotic Front leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka has raised concerns over what he described as attempts to compromise the political legacy of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, as opposition leaders stepped up engagement with his traditional political base in Nyanza.
Kalonzo made the remarks on Sunday, September 27, 2026, while leading a delegation of opposition leaders to a church service at ACK St Michael and All Angels Cathedral in Bondo.
The delegation included DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, Democratic Party leader JB Muturi and former Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju, in what could signal renewed efforts by opposition figures to maintain contact with the region following Raila’s death.
Kalonzo’s intervention centred on the question of who inherits, interprets and protects Raila Odinga’s political legacy at a time when the political landscape around the former opposition chief continues to evolve.
Addressing the congregation, Kalonzo invoked his long political association with Raila, recalling what he described as three distinct political seasons in which the two worked together.
He said he consistently supported Raila’s presidential ambitions because he believed in the message and political ideals he represented.
Kalonzo argued that Raila’s contribution to Kenya’s political development should not be reduced to the political contests of the present.
He also took issue with references by allies of President William Ruto to Raila as a political “project”, arguing that the late opposition leader should not be drawn into current political contests because he was no longer alive to participate in them.
According to Kalonzo, Raila was a political force in his own right and deserved recognition for the role he played in Kenya’s struggle for political reform.
The remarks are likely to deepen an emerging debate over Raila’s political inheritance, particularly as opposition parties seek to define their direction after his death.
Raila’s legacy becomes political fault line
For decades, Raila was a central figure in Kenya’s opposition politics, moving through successive political alliances and presidential campaigns while maintaining a particularly strong political following in Nyanza.
Kalonzo’s remarks in Bondo placed that history at the centre of his appeal to the region.
He recalled that he stood with Raila in different political seasons, including periods when he was not Raila’s running mate.
Former Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju reinforced that message, urging Kalonzo to continue engaging residents of Bondo and the wider Nyanza region.
Tuju’s intervention gave the gathering an additional political dimension, coming from a senior figure who has himself been involved in successive national political formations.
The message from the opposition leaders was therefore not confined to remembrance.
It also touched on the future relationship between Nyanza and the wider opposition movement.
Constitutional struggle
Kalonzo also linked the political legacies of Raila and his father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, to Kenya’s broader constitutional and democratic struggle.
He invoked the Constitution’s recognition of Kenyans who fought for freedom and justice, arguing that both generations of the Odinga family represented that historical struggle.
He also pointed to devolution as one of the major legacies associated with Raila, arguing that the system of devolved government should be protected and strengthened.
The argument gives Raila’s legacy a policy dimension beyond electoral politics.
Devolution has fundamentally altered the distribution of government resources and political authority in Kenya, creating county governments responsible for functions ranging from health and agriculture to local infrastructure and development.
For Kalonzo, protecting that legacy means safeguarding what he sees as the institutional gains of the reform era.
A different political landscape
The Bondo appearance comes against the backdrop of a rapidly changing political landscape.
Raila’s death has left a major space in Kenya’s opposition politics and triggered questions about the future direction of parties and political constituencies that had been associated with him.
Nyanza, in particular, remains an important political region whose leaders and voters are being courted by competing political formations.
Kalonzo’s decision to lead senior opposition figures to Bondo therefore carries significance beyond the church service itself.
It represents an attempt to maintain political engagement with a region where Raila commanded considerable influence over several decades.
The delegation’s composition also suggested an effort to project a broader opposition front rather than a single-party initiative.
Wamalwa represents DAP-K, Muturi leads the Democratic Party, while Tuju has previously occupied senior positions within the Jubilee Party and served in government.
Their appearance alongside Kalonzo provided a platform for different strands of opposition politics to speak to a constituency historically associated with Raila.
The question of succession
But the bigger political question remains unresolved: who, if anyone, can occupy the political space left by Raila?
Raila’s influence was built over decades through opposition movements, reform campaigns, presidential elections, parliamentary politics and national alliances.
His political base was also not confined to one party or one region.
That makes the question of succession considerably more complicated than simply identifying a new party leader.
Kalonzo’s Bondo message appeared to emphasise continuity of political ideals rather than a direct claim to Raila’s political mantle.
His appeal was that the principles he associated with Raila — constitutionalism, democratic reform, devolution and national inclusion — should survive the individual who championed them.
Appeal to Nyanza
Kalonzo thanked residents of Bondo and the wider Nyanza region for their reception and pledged continued engagement with the region.
For the opposition, such engagement could become increasingly important as political parties reposition themselves ahead of the next electoral cycle.
For Nyanza leaders and residents, however, the emerging political contest is likely to raise questions about what comes next.
Will the region maintain a unified political direction?
Will Raila’s political ideals continue to shape its choices?
Will opposition parties develop a new collective leadership structure?
Or will different political actors compete for influence over constituencies previously mobilised around Raila?
Those questions are likely to become more pronounced as the country moves deeper into the post-Raila political era.
For now, Kalonzo’s message from Bondo was clear: Raila’s political contribution, in his view, should be treated as a legacy to be defended rather than an instrument for settling today’s political battles.
And with senior opposition figures standing beside him, the church gathering offered a glimpse of how the struggle to define that legacy could increasingly become intertwined with the wider contest over the future of Kenya’s opposition politics.
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