Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has told off his critics for linking him to supernatural powers, citing that he is a staunch Christian.
In an apparent reference to Deputy President William Ruto and his allies who have regarded Mr Odinga as mganga (sorcerer), the ODM leader on Sunday said had he not been a Christian, he would not have overcome the many obstacles, including his detention without trial.
“We have walked a long journey to date because of the grace of God. We thank God for all he has done for us. Some people say Raila belongs to the devil, eti Raila ni mganga (that Raila is a sorcerer) I want to tell them that I am a Christian, a member of the Anglican Church,” Mr Odinga said.
Speaking during a Church Service at Hardy Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) in Karen, Nairobi, Mr Odinga told the “holier-than-thou” that God saved his life during the entire period of his nine-year-detention that was characterised by torture.
“I know what it means to know God because I have passed through several challenges that without God I would not have succeeded.”
Detention
“I have been put into detention, tortured – put in some sort of a hole, I had only one hour in 24 hours to see the sun,” said Mr Odinga.
He revealed that the torture he underwent affected his eyesight.
“I was in darkness all the time and we were only allowed to take out excreta in the morning before being locked up again. I stayed that way till my eyes were affected and that’s why I have a problem with my eyes,” the ODM leader said.
He recalled how he was tortured and his wife Ida arrested on several occasions and put in the cells.
“…but we overcame those because of the grace of God,” said Mr Odinga.
While addressing religious leaders at Ufungamano House in Nairobi in January, Mr Odinga said he is a beneficiary of God’s mercies and miracles and that he believes in God’s work.
“So many times, I’m left speechless when holier-than-thou people say Raila Odinga does not believe in God. Who would not believe in God and his miraculous ways after going through all these?”
He added that the men and women in struggles have been assassinated and caused to disappear without trace or immobilised and eventually subjected to slow and painful deaths from torture.
“I have witnessed all these. I have gone through all these. I believe I am alive today because my God lives and walks with me and I seek to walk with him,” he said.
Catholic Church
“As you all know, in one of my famous escapes from this country, it was the Catholic Church that came through for me and helped me avoid what I had been warned would be my last arrest after as I would not live again.”
He went on: “How would one not respect the Church or the Almighty after such miracles?”
He said that at some point in his life, the Bible was the only book available to him.
“Those were my years in detention. In that period, when everyone else had choices on what to read and who to listen to, I had no options. The Bible, the prison chaplain and occasional letters from my wife and children were all I had, day in, day out and for years, not days or weeks … years,” he said.
On Sunday, he reiterated his commitment to serve God in his quest for a united country.
He was accompanied by ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, MPs; George Aladwa (Makadara), Anthony Oluoch (Mathare), Babu Owino (Embakasi East), Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga) and 2017 Lang’ata Parliamentary candidate Oscar Omoke. BY DAILY NATION