By Professor Peter Ndiang’ui – Fort Myers, Florida

“A nation that fears truth cannot heal, cannot grow, and cannot be free.”

For the past week, Kenya has been drowning in a sea of half-truths, distortions, and deliberate forgetfulness. The nation has witnessed a theater of selective remembrance — where inconvenient facts are buried beneath waves of exaggerated tributes and moral whitewashing. In the frenzied mourning of Raila Amolo Odinga, truth itself has become the greatest victim.

Let us speak plainly. Raila once stood as a towering figure of resistance and justice in Kenya. His courage against dictatorship inspired millions and shaped the conscience of our nation. He paid the price for freedom, and history must honor that. Yet the Raila who departed this world was not the same fearless reformer who once risked all for democracy. In his later years, he lost his political compass, his moral fire, and his ideological clarity. And the nation, fearful of honesty, has chosen silence over truth. Deliberate amnesia has taken center stage in our country. What a shame.

The same politicians who mocked him as “finished” now canonize him as a saint. Those who called him unstable now claim, “Raila told me this, Raila told me that.” The hypocrisy is nauseating. What they forget to mention are the venomous insults they hurled at him in rallies and boardrooms alike. Luckily, these statements are available and are being replayed on social media. Indeed, truth will set us all free.

The Raila of the past two years was a man entangled in contradictions. He endorsed the disastrous Adani deal. He stood silent as young Kenyans were abducted and killed for demanding justice in 2024 and 2025. The man who once denounced corruption and state capture became strangely quiet as both flourished under his watch. The champion of the oppressed had grown weary — perhaps compromised — as tyranny returned in new robes.

Let us confront the painful truth: in his twilight years, Raila Odinga surrendered his political independence to President Ruto. That unholy alliance crippled the opposition and left Kenya without a moral compass or credible check on power. When the Gen-Z movement rose to demand truth and justice, Raila looked the other way. He had Ruto’s ear — yet said nothing meaningful as Albert Ojwang and countless other young Kenyans were executed or disappeared. He did not speak when Ruto’s security forces shot protesters in the legs. In moments of moral crisis, silence is not diplomacy; it is complicity.

Today, Ruto stands bold enough to boast that he leads both UDA and ODM — a tragic mockery of democracy and the opposition Raila once built. Before we drown in choreographed post-Raila eulogies, let us recall Ruto’s chilling declaration: that he would “send Raila to Bondo without him knowing.” Was that mere bravado, or an omen too dark to ignore?

Even as Ruto proclaims himself a champion of democracy, his regime continues to hound, silence, and persecute those who dare speak the truth — including clergy who refuse to kneel before power. The harassment of a bishop for speaking truth to authority is not just a political act; it is a moral crime against the nation’s conscience. Worse still, as Kenya mourned, Ruto quietly signed bills designed to stifle dissent — a telling reminder of a leader devoid of empathy, exploiting every moment of grief to advance political control.

Kenyans now face a defining choice. Do we continue to sanctify lies because they comfort us, or do we reclaim the courage to face the truth, however inconvenient? No amount of praise sung at gravesides can erase the facts of history. Raila’s legacy, like that of every mortal, must be viewed in its fullness — the triumphs and the failures, the courage and the compromise, the light and the shadow.

We must end this toxic culture of hero worship that blinds us to accountability. Truth is not disrespect; it is the highest form of patriotism. A nation that fears truth cannot heal, cannot grow, and cannot be free.

And yet, the mystery surrounding Raila’s death lingers. Kenyans still ask: when did he truly die? Where did he die? Before the official announcement on October 15th, social media was already abuzz with reports of his passing. Were those posts mere coincidence, or did some know what the rest of the country did not? The answers may not emerge now, but truth has an uncanny way of revealing itself in time.

Kenya stands at a moral crossroads. We can either continue to bury truth alongside our heroes, or we can build a future founded on honesty, integrity, and courage. Let us, at long last, begin a true culture of truth in Kenya. We must now start by questioning the bills Ruto signed while conniving with the country.

Editorial Note – The Diaspora Times
The above commentary reflects the author’s personal views and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of The Diaspora Times. We encourage intellectual debate grounded in fact, respect, and the enduring pursuit of truth.

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