Raila: How I saved Matiba’s life with toilet paper

Opposition leader Raila Odinga on Thursday recounted an incident where he saved the life of late veteran politician Kenneth Matiba when they were both in detention in 1990.

Addressing mourners at the funeral mass of Mr. Matiba at Ihura Stadium in Murang’a County, Odinga disclosed that when Matiba suffered a stroke while in detention at Kamiti Maximum Prison, he was denied treatment and his health worsened until he (Odinga) secretly sent a message to Matiba’s wife, Edith, written in a toilet paper.

Odinga narrated that they had been locked up in different cells with Matiba, but they were being attended to by the same doctors and also being guarded by the same security officers.

The opposition leader said he would later establish a cordial relationship with a prison warden, whom he named Mwangi, and who would pass messages between them.

Odinga further narrated that on one occasion, Mwangi disclosed to him that Mr. Matiba had fallen ill but for several days the doctors were claiming he was feigning illness.

“Mwangi came and told me, ‘Mheshimiwa your friend is sick. These days he is very dull, he is not talking, he just says he is in pain. Doctors have examined him but they are saying he is pretending but they themselves believe he is sick,’” Odinga recounted.

“When I heard this, I used a toilet paper to write to Ida telling her to inform Edith that Ken is sick. That askari, a Kenyan patriot who is now retired, is the one who took that note to Ida and that is how Ida informed Edith that Ken is sick.”

Odinga went further to narrate that when the government heard that Matiba’s family had received information of his deteriorating health condition, they took him to hospital and registered him for treatment as a Mr. Muchiri.

“I am saying this because I believe strongly that what caused the stroke in Matiba was preventable. If action would have been taken early Matiba would not have suffered a stroke,” said Odinga.

The stroke Matiba suffered after being denied treatment not only caused his eventual death on April 15, 2018 but also badly affected his multi-billion business empire as he could not manage it.

For the damage and violation of his rights by the State, the court awarded Matiba Ksh.945 million compensation in September 2017. The amount had not been paid to him by the time he died.