Labour leader Francis Atwoli has ignited a fresh debate over Kenya’s political future, declaring that with the death of veteran opposition stalwart Raila Odinga, the country no longer has a viable opposition force.
Atwoli offered measured praise for veteran politician Kalonzo Musyoka, but questioned whether Kalonzo was best suited to fill the vacuum left by Raila’s passing.
“After Raila Odinga, there is no opposition in Kenya,” Atwoli said in a TV interview this week. “Kalonzo Musyoka is a good man … a diplomat, a person who can pray for anybody, someone you can trust with whatever you have. But he is not best suited to say that he is the leader of the opposition in this country.” Atwoli added that if Kenyans wanted Kalonzo to be president, he could be.
Atwoli said his own counsel to Raila years ago had been to let Kalonzo serve as leader of the opposition, reflecting a long-standing camaraderie among senior political figures.
His comments come amid continuing national reflection on the death of Raila Odinga, who died on October 15, 2025, at the age of 80 while undergoing medical treatment in India. Odinga suffered a heart attack during a morning walk in Kerala and was pronounced dead at a hospital there. He had been seeking care for chronic health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and kidney issues.
Odinga, affectionately known as “Baba,” was Kenya’s most consequential opposition leader for more than three decades. A former prime minister and perennial presidential candidate, he contested five elections between 1997 and 2022, repeatedly challenging the political establishment and campaigning on democracy, justice and reform. Although he never reached the presidency, his activism helped usher in multiparty politics in the early 1990s and drove the passage of Kenya’s widely praised 2010 constitution.
His death has left a profound leadership gap within the opposition, with senior figures internally confused about succession. Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has struggled to cohere around a single successor, with some leaders pushing for unity around a new generation and others advocating for seasoned politicians.
Atwoli’s remarks reflect the broader anxieties among political elites about the direction of Kenya’s opposition ahead of the 2027 elections, with many Kenyans on social media echoing his view that Odinga’s absence has created a vacuum difficult to fill. Some supporters have called for fresh leadership, while others insist that Raila’s legacy should guide the next generation of opposition voices.
