Raila’s bodyguard Ogetta recounts chilling abduction ordeal

The late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bodyguard, Maurice Ogeta, has recounted how armed men abducted him as he waited for a vehicle to be washed near Nairobi Hospital.

Speaking to KTN, Ogeta recalled the incident happened on July 19, 2023 at a time when Raila was unwell and had been admitted to the hospital after developing an infection that left him sneezing frequently and unable to speak properly.

According to Ogeta, Raila had initially planned to visit the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation offices in Upper Hill, Nairobi, before his team persuaded him to seek medical attention.

“On this specific day, my boss was at Nairobi Hospital, and we had to plan with the doctor to have him admitted. He had some infection, was sneezing a lot and had lost his voice,” Ogeta recounted.

He said Raila later went to the foundation offices, where he rested briefly, before his team convinced him to return to the hospital.

Ogeta said he left Raila at the hospital after arranging for his continued care and agreed to report back at 10am the following day.

He also organised for someone to deliver newspapers to the late former Prime Minister the next morning.

He left his home at about 7am the following day, intending to work out at the gym before heading to the hospital.

However, before he could leave his compound, a nurse called him to establish his whereabouts and ask when he would arrive at the hospital.

The nurse informed him that Raila had discharged himself and wanted to leave.

Ogeta said he then proceeded to have his vehicle washed at a car wash near Nairobi Hospital because it was dirty.

While standing across the road watching the vehicle being cleaned, he noticed a Subaru passing by.

Moments later, he said, the occupants confronted him and ordered him to surrender.

“Then I heard a command: ‘You are under arrest, raise your hands up.’ I remained standing, and I saw five brandishing guns,” he recounted.

Ogeta said he complied with the orders issued by the armed men and informed them that he was armed, offering to surrender his firearm.

“Luckily, I stood as they issued orders. I told them I was armed, and I told them to take my gun. I complied with what they were telling me,” he said.

He was subsequently bundled into the Subaru and questioned by his captors, who allegedly told him that the political regime had changed.

“They put me in the Subaru and asked me, ‘Who are you? Do you know the regime has changed?’ I did not respond,” Ogeta recounted.

He said the men drove him to unfamiliar locations, leaving him uncertain about where he was being taken.

Ogeta did not provide further details about the places he was taken to or how he was eventually released.

He concluded his account by reassuring those concerned about his welfare that he was safe.

“Here I am, safe,” he said.