Nairobi Senator and ODM Party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna on Tuesday night shared a dramatic encounter that introduced him to political activist Oketch Salah, amid rising tensions involving Salah and members of the Odinga family.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Sifuna recounted the moment during the funeral of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga last year, saying his first close notice of Salah was during a tense moment.
“I remember taking note of Oketch Salah on the day that Baba died. The President had already come in and was in the middle of passing his condolences to Mama Ida when suddenly there was commotion. Somebody just burst in and everybody was in shock, that was my formal introduction to Oketch Salah,” Sifuna said.
He described the disruption as unexpected, occurring while President William Ruto was delivering his condolences to the Odinga family, leaving guests startled by the sudden intrusion.
The dispute escalated after Winnie Odinga’s Citizen TV interview, in which she strongly rejected Salah’s claims about his closeness to her late father and presence during his final moments.
Winnie characterized Salah’s narrative as false and potentially dangerous, saying she had met him but asserting that “nobody really knows him,” and dismissing his account as a “flat‑out lie.”
She went further to question his intentions and raised concerns about the accuracy of his statements.
Hours after Winnie’s remarks, Raila Odinga Jr. also weighed in, describing Salah’s assertions as “nonsense,” reinforcing the family’s rejection of his version of events.
Salah initially chose not to respond out of respect for the Odinga family but later said he stands by his account and plans to clarify his position in a forthcoming interview