Revealed:How Raila Escaped Moi’s planned assassination after Botched 1982 Coup

A US embassy official, Mr Allan Eastham, told RAILA that they had intelligence indicating that the government was in advance stages of preparing his execution.

He told him that the impending arrest was not to be an ordinary arrest but rather an arrest that would cause him bodily harm if not lead to his death,he advised him to be safe and careful.

The police raided his offices at Agip house but missed him since he had gone to Orengo’s office within the same building, a team of Lawyers led by Mrs Karua were called in to witness the siege, this foiled the raid and the police called it a day promising to keep the hunt.

It was at this point that a decision was made to ensure that RAILA ODINGA went underground sincere the government seemed to be serious about killing him.

After a night in Orengo’s house, Nyong’o, RAILA and Orengo felt that the house was also not safe, they had to find a safer haven to hide Raila from the state.

They made a decision to take him to Dr kituyi’s house, Nyong’o drove him to his new home. RAILA stayed with Dr Kituyi family for a week while the special branch hunted down for him everywhere. On the first night at Kituyi home, the police raided his house in Kileleshwa.

Ida having been used to the battle refused to open the door, insisting Raila was not at home, she pretended to be searching for keys while in fact she was calling the press.

She asked the watchman to count the officers in the compounding, when he reached 17, he was beaten to black out.After a week, the time to move RAILA to another location came.

Kituyi’s wife, Mrs Ling, was charged with the responsibility of driving him to the US embassy. She changed RAILA beards, fixed him with glasses & a wig, she sat him behind while Dr Kituyi was following closely with Nyong’o.

The trip to the embassy was successful but they refused to host him for fear of crossing President Moi’s path. From the embassy, Nyong’o and Muite drove Raila to Loresho where he stayed with Jalang’o Onyango for a week as they crafted the next course of action.

The Catholic church took the issue of Raila a week later, he moved to his sister-in-law’s house to meet his children and promised them that he’ll never go back to Detention. A white American nun and father Opiyo got RAILA out of Nairobi.

They dressed Raila as a priest, gave him glasses and shaved his head clean, RAILA became all completely different person after the changes.

Sitting at the back, RAILA read newspapers as they passed the numerous roadblocks mounted on the road by the police.

When they reached the Catholic station in Kisumu, they booked RAILA under the name Father Augustine from Machakos, he was later transferred to Rangala Mission station and was booked under the same name. His father sent a car to pick him.

At 4 pm, RAILA ODINGA was moved to Olago Beach where he was to be smuggled out of the country through the Lake, he boarded the diesel- powered boat and began his voyage to Uganda, they passed by Ndeda Island to pick up some passengers and left for Uganda at 8pm.

After 2hrs, Hezron Orori, the navigator, announced that they were in Uganda,a heavy storm hit the lake later & Orori’s wife began to shiver, Raila lent her his jacket & faced the unforgiving cold himself,he turned to a bottle of Vodka given to him by a friend to get some warmth.

He spent the night at Sigulu Island in Uganda.

With the help of sympathetic Kenyans and Tanzanians living in
Uganda, he acquired Ugandan papers, but
changed his name to Joseph Ojiwa
Wadenya.

Once in Kampala, he was hosted by
one of his friends who worked in his company,the friend reported his arrival to UNHCR, the UNHCR advised Raila to remain underground since the Kenyan government had sent special officers to kidnap him and send him back home.

Efforts by the Kenyan government to recapture him proved futile due to the hostility of the Ugandan government towards Moi regime.

All countries were unwilling to host
Raila except Norway. Norway eventually offered him asylum.To be moved out of Uganda, RAILA had to be disguised once more.

Ahmed Sayyid Farah,a Somali national who was the UNHCR country representative in Uganda decided that they were not going to take chances.

Farah got RAILA ODINGA a kanzu with a fez and a jacket similar to those of Uganda Muslims to wear.

His name was also changed from Wadenya to Haji Omar, going to mecca for
pilgrimage. When he reached Oslo not even his blood sisters who were waiting for him could recognize him.

The Norwegian government offered him a job,a house and a passport to visit any country except Kenya,the son of Jaramogi lived to fight another day.

-COURTESY