ODM Communications Director Philip Etale has shared a moving account of how the late Raila Odinga stepped in to change the course of his life after he lost his job as a young journalist.
In a heartfelt post on X, Etale said he was only 19 when he first met Odinga in June 2000, a meeting that marked the beginning of a friendship that would last over two decades.
He described Odinga not just as a political icon, but as a father figure who guided him through some of the most difficult moments of his life.
“I vividly remember, when I had just lost my job in a leading media house, it was you, Hon. William Ruto and Hon. Reuben Ndolo who rang me. You were seated somewhere and instructed me to see Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o and Madam Janet Ong’era for further instructions," Etale wrote.
That phone call, Etale says, changed everything. It was the start of a new chapter that saw him join Odinga’s communication team, eventually rising to become the party’s communications director.
From that day, he says, Raila treated him not just as an aide, but as family.
“You called me your son. You called me by my first name Philip. When we spoke on Monday, you gave me hope and promised me that you would be back home in a few days,” he wrote, mourning the late opposition leader who died in India while undergoing treatment.
Etale went on to recall how Odinga stood by him through personal tragedies — from the death of his parents to the loss of his son.
“When my mother passed on, you were the first to call me. Your words of encouragement made me have a cool heart,” he said.
In his final words, Etale accepted Raila’s passing with deep sorrow but enduring gratitude.
“I have accepted. I am gutted. I am deflated. Go well Sir. I will miss you.”
For Etale, Raila Odinga was more than a political leader.
He was a mentor who believed in him when the world had turned its back — a man whose kindness and guidance shaped the course of his life.
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