Kenya: State-Backed Raila Odinga Mausoleum Enters Construction Phase After Site Handover

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Capital FM report, says construction has begun on the proposed Raila Odinga Mausoleum after the Odinga family transferred the Kang'o ka Jaramogi site in Siaya County to the Kenya Defence Forces for the state-supported project. The handover and groundbreaking ceremony took place on Monday and was attended by Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, moving the plan from preparation into building work.

The report says the project comes nearly nine months after the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the long-time Orange Democratic Movement leader, who died on October 15, 2025, while receiving specialised treatment in India. In June 2026, the National Museums of Kenya began procurement for the mausoleum and allocated Sh30 million under a listed tender to turn the site into a national heritage monument.

Oburu Oginga handed over the ancestral site on behalf of the family, with Raila Odinga Junior also present. Tuya told the gathering that KDF engineers had been directed to complete the work within two months and said quality should be maintained despite the accelerated schedule. She also urged national cohesion and cautioned against divisive political rhetoric, while acknowledging ODM's support for a broad-based government.

According to the report, the first phase will include the mausoleum and exhibition areas for some of Odinga's personal artefacts, including vehicles linked to his political career. A broader redevelopment led by the National Museums of Kenya is expected to upgrade the nearby Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Mausoleum and connect the two memorials into a heritage complex with galleries, a research library and digital archives.