What some people thought to be a disunity among Luhya leaders has turned out to b something entirely different — a show of culture, respect, and affection for the late former primeier Raila Odinga.
When he waspeaking on a local radio station on Thursday, October 23, 2025, Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa allayed claims that Western leaders were divided after they each presented bulls separately to the Odinga family. He said that what happened was deeply cultural and rooted in Luhya traditions of mourning.
“In our culture, when death strikes, you don’t wait to organize a group presentation. You go with what you have, as fast as you can, to comfort the family,” Wamalwa explained.
According to him, the gesture was also a sign of the close bond that the Western region shared with Raila Odinga — a man he described as being “almost one of us.” Raila, he reminded listeners, often joked that he was the eleventh grandchild of Nabongo Mumia, the Wanga king.
The procession of bulls began with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who led Maragoli elders to Opoda Farm. Wamalwa followed, accompanied by elders and DAP-K officials, performing the traditional tero buru ritual. Later, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya made his way to Bondo with his own delegation.
A few days later, Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya brought his offering along with fifteen sacks of maize, saying the Wanga custom forbids them to present bulls before the body of the deceased gets home. His delay, he said, was purely cultural.
Three days after the burial, Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka also paid his respects. He was received by Siaya Governor James Orengo and explained that the third day after burial is significant among the Luhya people — a day of remembrance and transition.
Wamalwa also recalled that Raila had once comforted his family during the death of his brother, the late Vice President Michael Wamalwa Kijana. “It was only right to return that love,” he said quietly.
To him and other Western leaders, those bulls were not about politics or showing off power, or a move meant to earn political bonga points. They were symbols — of gratitude, of kinship, and of a bond that even death could not erase.
