This archive report was first published on 22 September 2019.
Thika Stadium Bloodbath: Raila Odinga's Narrow Escape ¶
September 22, 2019
On a fateful day in 1995, Thika Stadium was under siege as Ford-Kenya held elections to replace its chairman, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who had passed away a year earlier. Raila Odinga, the ODM leader, was in the running for the top post, but little did he know that his life was in danger.
A senior police officer, allegedly on the payroll of Wamalwa Kijana, the then First Vice Chairman of Ford-Kenya, ordered his junior to aim and shoot Raila. However, thanks to the bravery of Rev. George Okoth Otura and Martin Otieno, Raila was shielded from the bullets and survived the attempt on his life.
According to Otura, who was interviewed by The Standard, he and Otieno jumped onto Raila and forced him to the ground, shielding him from the flying bullets. Otura recalled, 'I knew they were going to kill Raila. I have never been scared like that in my life. I heard a senior police officer ordering one of his juniors to aim at Raila and we had to act fast by pushing him to the ground.'
The chaos at Thika Stadium was sparked by a dispute over the list of delegates, with Raila's supporters spending the night at the stadium and locking the gates. Wamalwa's team, led by Audi Ogada, a former leader of the dreaded Bagdad Boys, arrived in a large convoy, but were unable to enter the stadium. Ogada broke open the chain used to lock the gate, and the two sides clashed, resulting in a bloodbath and chaos.
MP Gideon Ochanda, who was appointed to preside over the election, revealed that the police were using live bullets, and hundreds would have died if it weren't for the intervention of Otura and Otieno. Ochanda said, 'It was through God's grace that Thika did not turn into a mini-massacre.'
The incident marked a turning point in Raila's life, and he eventually broke ranks with Wamalwa, resigned from Ford-Kenya, and formed the National Development Party (NDP), which he used to retain the Lang'ata parliamentary seat in the subsequent by-election. Raila went on to contest the presidency in 1997, an election that almost changed Kenya's course of history.
