In his book Flames of Freedom, the late former Prime Minister and ODM party leader, Raila Odinga, recounts a harrowing escape from a government plot to eliminate him during President Daniel arap Moi’s regime.
What began as a routine political struggle soon escalated into a life-or-death situation.
According to the account, a U.S. embassy official, Allan Eastham, warned Raila that the government was preparing an arrest that could cost him his life.
Acting on this intelligence, Raila went into hiding.
A police raid on his office at Agip House missed him because he had relocated to the office of fellow lawyer Orengo in the same building. Lawyers led by Mrs. Martha Karua arrived to witness the police siege, thwarting the operation.
Realizing the need for a safer refuge, Raila moved with Orengo and Nyong’o to the home of Dr. Kituyi in Kileleshwa.
There, Ida, a trusted ally, cleverly resisted a police raid, counting officers in the compound and secretly alerting the press. Raila stayed with the Kituyi family for a week as authorities hunted him relentlessly.
The next phase of his escape involved disguise and subterfuge. Dr. Kituyi’s wife, Mrs. Ling, transported Raila to the U.S. embassy, disguising him with a wig, glasses, and a beard.
Though the embassy could not shelter him due to political risks, Raila was safely driven to Loresho, staying with Jalang’o Onyango before moving to his sister-in-law’s home to see his children.
With assistance from a white American nun and Father Opiyo, Raila was disguised as a priest, complete with shaved head and glasses, enabling him to evade numerous police roadblocks on the way to the Catholic mission in Kisumu.
There, he assumed the identity of “Father Augustine from Machakos” before being transferred to Rang’ala mission station.
Finally, Raila was smuggled out of Kenya via Lake Victoria, boarding a diesel-powered boat to Uganda. He faced harsh storms and freezing conditions but persisted, aided by sympathetic Kenyans and Tanzanians.
In Uganda, he acquired local documents under the name Joseph Ojiwa Wadenya and remained underground, guided by the UNHCR. Somali UNHCR representative Ahmed Sayyid Farah later ensured further protection to prevent him from being traced back to Kenya.