ODM leader Raila Odinga emotionally thanked his wife for all the support she has offered him througut his tough political career in Kenya.
Speaking during a meeting with Women leaders on November 18, Odinga said men can not stand strong without having supportive wives by their sides.
“You will not able to stand if you do not have somebody strong around you, sometimes they say when you are on the pulpit holding the bible…for better for worse, in poverty and in wealth. It is very easy to say that but when the test comes very few people pass that test,” he said.
The ODM leader counted his wife Ida as one of the strongest women, who stood with him during his tough fight for democracy in Kenya.
“Ida is a very strong personality, she has gone through hell herself… I can say I was a troublemaker but she has seen a lot of luck,” Odinga said.
The ODM leader recalled the time he fell ill after being detained at Manyani prison by late President Daniel Moi’s dictatorial government.
He was later transferred to Kamiti prison, where Ida would sneak in letters and medicine for him.
This, he says, cost Ida Odinga her job as a teacher at Kenya High, and later another one at the Ministry of Education.
“They went and picked her, locked her up, and began to torture her to find out how she managed to smuggle the letter to me. She went through hell at that time,” Raila recalled.
He said Ida was arrested several times and also helped him in escaping to exile in Uganda.
“I just want to tell you that Ida has been a very strong pillar in supporting me. Without her I would not be able to make it, thank you, darling,” Raila said amid cheers from the crowd that was no doubt deeply moved by the narration.
