Raila Junior explains viral video of him addressing Kilgoris residents behind fence

The video was recorded on Saturday, August 8, when Raila Junior was in Kilgoris for President William Ruto's daughter Charlene Ruto's traditional engagement and dowry ceremony with her Tanzanian fiancé, Isaya Yunge.

In the video, Raila Junior is seen speaking to a group of residents gathered on the other side of a wire-mesh fence.

He appreciates the residents for the warm reception, saying he understood their affection towards him as an extension of the love they had for his late father, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

He also urged the residents to maintain peace and unity, telling them they were like brothers.

"Sisi ni madungu, mkae kama kitu kimoja," he said.

Raila Junior further promised to organise an official visit to the area, during which he would meet residents and discuss issues affecting ordinary Kenyans.

"ODM ni kutatua shida ya watu wa chini. Na mimi nitarudi nikae na nyinyi, asanteni sana," he said.

As he left, some residents called on him to return to the area with his sister, Winnie Odinga.

The video, however, attracted varied reactions online, with some users interpreting the presence of the fence as evidence that residents had been kept away from the private wedding ceremony known as a Koito or Koito ak Chaik.

The images of an elite political figure speaking to ordinary citizens through a security fence quickly ignited controversy, with critics and commentators seizing on the video as visual proof that ordinary Kenyans and local neighbours had been barred from entering the venue while VIPs, arriving in helicopters, partook in the lavish private celebrations inside.

"Raila Odinga Jr address Kilgoris residents across the fence in William Ruto's farm. You mean neighbours were not invited into Charlene Ruto's Traditional wedding..." one comment stated. 

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday after the video generated debate, Raila Junior said the scene had been taken out of context.

His clarification seeks to counter the impression created by some of the online reactions that the fence was erected to keep the local residents away from Charlene's ceremony.

"I have seen the video and the comments circulating about me greeting wananchi through a fence," he said.

He clarified that the interaction did not take place at President Ruto's private residence but at the public airstrip in Kilgoris.

"For clarity: this was not at the President’s private home. It took place at the public airstrip in Kilgoris," he said.

Raila Junior explained that he had just alighted from an aircraft when a group of residents who recognised him waved him over and asked him to greet them.

"As I alighted from the aircraft, a group of wananchi who recognised me waved me over and asked to greet me," he said.

He added that the fence seen in the video was a standard safety barrier separating the public from the aircraft landing area.

Raila Junior said he responded to the residents in the normal manner in which he would engage members of the public.

"I responded to their greeting in the normal way one does with members of the public," he said.

He thanked Kenyans for the close attention they have continued to pay to his public activities, saying he would endeavour to communicate with them more frequently.

"On a lighter note, I am pleased by the rigor and keen interest with which netizens follow my journey. I shall endeavour to update you more frequently," he said.