Mama Ida Backs Raila Junior for Kibra Parliamentary Seat
Mama Ida Odinga has publicly endorsed her son, Raila Odinga Junior, in his bid for the Kibra parliamentary seat ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The matriarch made the declaration during celebrations marking her 76th birthday, telling residents she had accepted their call for her son to enter elective politics. She placed the young aspirant firmly in the care of local leaders and the community.
Residents had approached her with the familiar saying that a lion’s cub is itself a lion, signalling their support for Raila Junior to follow in the family’s political footsteps. Mama Ida responded that she would not stand in the way of their decision. “Now you, Kibra residents, have come to me with other things. You are telling me that ‘Mtoto wa simba ni simba.’ If you have decided, then I don’t have much to say, but I put him in your hands. First of all, I put him in the hands of Kibra leaders. To all of you here, I leave my child in your hands,” she said.
She specifically appealed to leaders who had worked alongside former Prime Minister Raila Odinga since 1992 to take responsibility for mentoring the newcomer. “All of you who have come here at the front, I have given you my son. Take care of him, teach him and remind him,” she added. The endorsement comes as Raila Junior intensifies his grassroots engagements, having already held meetings with elders from all five wards of the constituency to discuss unity and development.
Mama Ida also issued clear guidance on the style of politics her son should pursue. She challenged him to campaign cleanly, relying on ideas and a record of service rather than insults, disorder or violence. “Run clean politics, not of insults, chaos or violence. It should be clean. Convince people with your words and what you can do for them,” she advised, setting an expectation for issue-based engagement.
Raila Junior formally declared his interest in the Kibra seat on August 3 and has since focused on organising support at the community level. With his mother’s public blessing now secured, attention turns to how local leaders will shape his early political path and whether the constituency will rally behind the latest member of the Odinga family seeking elective office.
