ODM calls on Kenyans to light candles in honour of Raila Odinga on Friday

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has called on Kenyans at home and abroad to light candles on Friday, October 2, as part of activities marking the first anniversary of the death of former long-term party leader Raila Odinga.

The party designated October as 'Mwezi wa Baba,' with the candle-lighting ceremony scheduled for 6pm, describing the moment as an opportunity to remember Raila, who died on October 15, 2025, while receiving medical treatment in India.

"On Friday, 2nd October at exactly 6:00 PM, wherever you are, in Kenya and across the globe, light one candle for Baba," read a notice by the party.

The party urged families and friends to gather, pause and remember the late former Prime Minister’s life and political journey.

The candle-lighting exercise will mark the beginning of a month-long programme of memorial activities planned across the country.

ODM will hold a major memorial rally in Kakamega Town on October 9, bringing together supporters from Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties.

Family-led activities will then take place from October 10 to 15, culminating in the main memorial service at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo on October 15, the first anniversary of Raila's death.

The commemorations will continue with a memorial rally in Garissa Town on October 17, followed by activities in the Coast region on October 18 and 19.

Further events are planned in Kajiado on October 21 and Turkana between October 23 and 25, before the month-long programme culminates in a major "Mwezi wa Baba" memorial rally in Nairobi on October 31.

The ODM programme is set to run parallel with the family-led anniversary programme coordinated by a national steering committee chaired by Prof. Adams Oloo and deputised by Rarieda MP Dr. Otiende Amollo.

The committee was commissioned by Raila's widow, Mama Ida Odinga, on September 17 and includes representatives from government, political institutions, civil society, academia, the private sector and the Odinga family. 

The family indicated that its main commemorative activities will run from October 10 to October 17. 

Raila died on October 15, 2025, bringing to an end a political career spanning several decades. 

He served as Kenya's Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013 and was a central figure in the country's opposition politics as he unsuccessfully vied for the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022.