'They wanted to eliminate him': Raila's bodyguard recounts brush with death

Maurice Ogeta, the longtime bodyguard of the late former opposition leader Raila Odinga, has recounted an alleged assassination attempt on his former boss, who died a year ago.

In a candid interview with The Standard, Ogeta recalled Raila’s near-death experiences, recounted his own abduction by State operatives and described the emotional burden of protecting one of the most influential figures in opposition politics since independence.

Remembering Raila fondly as a friend, mentor and a “jewel” to the country, Ogeta described how violent rallies became a recurring threat to the former Prime Minister’s life, placing him and his security team in danger on several occasions.

The most harrowing incident, Ogeta recalled, occurred in 2023 during the anti-government protests dubbed “Maandamano Tuesdays”, when police officers allegedly fired 11 bullets at Raila’s car in a chilling brush with death.

“At that point, it registered and my blood registered that, okay, we are dying anyway. So, mine was to wait and see how we are going to die. I knew very well that it would be the gunshots that would kill us,” Ogeta recalled.

The protests were spearheaded by principals of the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya coalition and drew thousands of Kenyans onto the streets of Nairobi to protest against the high cost of living and what they described as poor governance by the newly elected Kenya Kwanza administration.

During one of the final demonstrations, Ogeta recounted, Raila’s convoy became trapped in Pipeline, Embakasi, unable to move forward or reverse as police officers pursued them.

Engulfed in teargas smoke and facing stone-throwing gangs, Raila and his team watched helplessly as police officers advanced towards the convoy and allegedly fired indiscriminately at the vehicles trapped in a dead end.

“In no time, the officers had advanced. They were on our car. We couldn’t turn because there were so many vehicles behind us. And as you probably remember from a moment captured on video and went viral, an officer came to the windscreen of my boss’ car...that windscreen was hit so many times to a point where it gave in and cracked. After cracking, so many shots were fired in that car,” said Ogeta.

Inside the vehicle, Ogeta and members of the security team forced Raila to the floor and lay on him to shield him from the bullets, using their bodies as human shields.

“We tried using anything that we could find in that car to cover him up down there...it was now a matter of ensuring that we die first and let them get to Raila last,” a sombre and visibly grief-stricken Ogeta narrated.

“It got to a point when the shots were too much and I heard one of our officers who was in charge of the security who was in the front car say through the walkie-talkie that they have killed Mzee. I however radioed back and told them to try and remain calm because Mzee was not dead...it was such a serious thing because with the number of officers who came to our car, it was just by a miracle that we were able to come out of that place alive.”

He added: “I can only thank God because there is no magic that we did. As a person, there is nothing I could have done; I was waiting for my turn (to die).”

By the time the vehicles were finally able to turn and stop, the security team realised that Raila’s car had 11 bullet holes, most of them aimed at the area where a VIP would normally sit, Ogeta said.

“But we thank God that either we controlled ourselves or God controlled us and we left that place. And at the same time, I thank our security team that used to protect Mheshimiwa Raila because it was not easy. It was not easy all through,” he said.

Ogeta also recounted how he was abducted by unknown individuals during a separate incident linked to the demonstrations.

“At some point I thought it was a mistaken identity or a confusion because the questions I was being asked were things that were not concerning me at all. But at the same time, during these demos, I must admit that we did a big blunder. One of my boss's friends got into our car, because most of the time when these things were happening, in fact, it was that Raila's car that everyone was running to, assuming that it was the safest, because of how we were conducting our issues,” he revealed.

“So, of course, we had Mzee's friend in our car and I'm still struggling to understand why. I don't know whether it was excitement or whether it was intentional, but he was recording us as we were going through all this, recording inside the car. Believe it or not, I was called by somebody from the US and then another call from South Africa, warning me and telling me there is something, somebody, just check, there is somebody in that car,’ he added.

Ogeta said he was warned that someone was exposing the team and that they needed to be careful.

“Little did I know there were so many people who had tried calling me. So, by the time I picked this up, I saw the message, and then they even sent the clips back to me. So, checking it, we heard that Professor Makau Mutua in our car was busy filming. I don't know whether it was excitement, and I'm even wondering what excitement we would be having in such a situation,” said the former Raila aide.

“...I think four, five days after that, when my boss and other politicians were planning to go for demos on a Wednesday, I was picked up by the abductors. And they knew almost everything,” he said.

Ogeta, whom observers describe as fiercely loyal to Raila, also shed light on his final moments with his former boss in India, where the opposition leader died on October 15, 2025.

In a poignant account, Ogeta said he was walking about a metre behind Raila at his residence when he noticed the former Prime Minister struggling to continue walking.

“I think he went only a quarter way, walking slowly. Then he stopped. Remember I’m just a metre away,” Ogeta recalled.

He said Raila made a sound that prompted him to ask whether he was experiencing back pain or discomfort in his leg.

“When he made that kind of noise, I asked him again, is there a problem? Is it the back that is now a problem or the leg? Is the pain too much? Because I knew he had those problems. But he did not respond,” he recalled.

According to Ogeta, Raila appeared confused and seemed to be looking up at the sky.

Ogeta said he offered to help the former Prime Minister to a nearby chair so he could establish what was troubling him.

However, Raila soon leaned on him with his full weight, prompting Ogeta to call for a nurse at the facility. An ambulance was then called to take the former Prime Minister to hospital.

Ogeta said doctors and nurses did everything they could upon his arrival, but Raila eventually died.