Winnie Odinga Tells Youth: ‘Question Even Raila Odinga’

East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Winnie Odinga has urged young people to question authority and think independently, asserting that even public figures they admire should not be placed beyond scrutiny.

Speaking at the Nairobi International Book Fair on Thursday, September 24, Winnie represented the Odinga family as her late father, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, was posthumously inducted into the Kenya Publishers Association Hall of Fame. She cautioned against elevated reverence, noting that making her father someone immune to critique would contradict the core values he demonstrated throughout his political career.

“Question even the people you admire, including Raila Odinga. He spent his life questioning authority. It would be a strange tribute to him if you turned him into somebody who could no longer be questioned,” she said.

A Call to Seek Knowledge and Own the Narrative

Challenging youth to read beyond basic academic requirements, Winnie framed reading as a vital tool for understanding history and processing personal experiences.

“Read because there are people who benefit when you do not know your own history,” Winnie said, adding that literature helps young people recognize that others have navigated similar challenges. “Read because somebody somewhere has already felt that thing you’re going through, that you think you’ve never faced before.”

She encouraged youth to leverage knowledge to build the confidence required for critical thinking.

“Read because the easiest person to lead is the person who has never learned to question and then think,” she noted.

The event celebrated Raila Odinga’s contributions to literature and publishing alongside his political legacy. The late opposition icon authored The Flame of Freedom, a detailed memoir documenting his life, democratic struggles, and political journey.

Winnie urged Africans to document their own experiences, warning of the risks when external voices shape local narratives.

“A continent that doesn’t write and share its own story eventually discovers that somebody else has written it for us,” she cautioned.

Redefining Leadership Beyond Formal Titles

Winnie also urged the younger generation to broaden their perception of leadership, explaining that true impact is not confined to official positions or state authority.

“Not necessarily from Parliament or State House, not necessarily with a title, definitely not with a rifle. Lead wherever you are,” she said.

Reflecting on her father’s political trajectory, Winnie noted that principled leadership often demands resilience and isolation.

“My father’s life taught me that sometimes leadership means standing at the front, and sometimes leadership means standing almost completely alone,” she reflected.

She highlighted that the former prime minister’s ideas continue to shape Kenya’s national discourse.

“Today, however, he is not alone. His words are here, his ideas are here, his arguments are definitely here, and judging by Kenyan politics, some of those arguments are not finished. Dad loved this country. He believed fiercely in its people, and he believed that Africans must have the courage to imagine something better than what we inherited,” Winnie said.

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