A year after Raila Odinga’s death, the Orange Democratic Movement will tomorrow, Friday October 2, 2026, begin a month-long tribute to its founder, taking his memory across the country through candle-lighting ceremonies and a series of memorial events.
The opening ceremony will take place at 6pm, with ODM calling on Kenyans to light candles wherever they are in honour of the former Prime Minister.
The exercise will mark the start of “Mwezi wa Baba”, a programme through which the party plans to revisit Raila’s political journey, his contribution to Kenya and the values it says defined his public life.
In Nairobi, the main gathering will be held at Uhuru Park, although ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga said activities will begin earlier, with residents expected at the venue from 3pm.
“We invite Nairobi residents and all Kenyans to come together at Uhuru Park from 3pm to light a candle in honour of Baba, remember his life and celebrate the values and ¡deals he stood for,” Ms Wanga said.
The party has also designated Treasury Square in Mombasa as the main venue for the Coast region.
“Residents of Mombasa and the Coast region are invited to join us at Treasury Square as we light candles in honour of Baba and reflect on the legacy he left for our country,” she added.
Kenyans will also gather at Kisumu Central Square, Governor’s Grounds in Kakamega and Kajiado County headquarters for the candle-lighting.
Raila died in India on October 15, 2025, aged 80, bringing to an end a political career that spanned several decades and saw him become one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures.
ODM said the candle-lighting is only the first activity in a packed October programme that will take the party and its supporters to different parts of the country.
The programme was unveiled earlier this month after the party’s Central Committee met on September 9.
Kakamega will host the next major event on October 9, when ODM plans to hold a memorial rally for supporters from Western Kenya.
From October 10 to 15, activities organised by Raila’s family will take over, leading to the main memorial service at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo on October 15.
The commemorations will then continue in Garissa on October 17, with Coast activities scheduled for October 18 and 19. Kajiado will host an event on October 21, while Turkana will hold activities from October 23 to 25.
The month will close with a memorial rally in Nairobi on October 31.
Beyond remembering Raila, ODM says the programme will focus on the political values and causes that were central to his career.
Raila was a long-time campaigner for constitutional reform, multiparty democracy, devolution and wider participation in the country’s political affairs.
He was among the leading figures in Kenya’s push for political pluralism and played a major role in the constitutional reform process that eventually produced the 2010 Constitution.
His political career also included service as a Cabinet minister in the Narc government and as Prime Minister between 2008 and 2013 under the Grand Coalition Government.
ODM has said the October programme will give Kenyans a chance to reflect on the values Raila represented and the causes he pursued, while encouraging supporters to remain committed to what the party describes as his ideals.
The first anniversary is also taking place as ODM works to establish its political path without the leader who had shaped much of its identity and activities.
The party is currently led by Raila’s elder brother, Dr Oburu Oginga, while its membership and leadership have differing views on cooperation with President William Ruto’s government.
Some ODM leaders and members remain supportive of working with the government, while another section has adopted a more critical stance and become linked to the opposition through the Linda Mwananchi Movement.
Those differences have added a political dimension to the anniversary, although ODM has presented the October programme primarily as an opportunity to honour and remember its late founder.
Raila’s widow, Ida Odinga, has separately formed a national steering committee to organise family activities during the anniversary period.
The party and family programmes will therefore form separate but related parts of the commemoration, with the family-led activities ending in Bondo, where Raila was buried beside his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
ODM Director of Communications Philip Etale said tomorrow’s candle-lighting would bring supporters together as the party opens the month of remembrance.
At 6pm, the candles will mark the beginning of a nationwide journey through several regions, where ODM plans to reflect on the political career of the man who built the party into one of Kenya’s major political organisations.
The anniversary will also offer ODM a chance to look at its future after Raila as it seeks to maintain what it regards as his political legacy while managing internal differences, changing alliances and preparations for the approaching General Election.