False claims surround the previous death of Kenya’s prime minister

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Rairainga Rainga died on October 15, 2025, reportedly from cardiac arrest while receiving treatment in India. The veteran opposition leader’s death was followed by an uproar online, with social media users sharing clips and photos that clearly show his final moments and aftermath. However, these spaces are false; Some are negative about people and places, while others include content generated intelligence gathering tools.

Odinga, known as “Baba” (father) to his supporters, died in Kerala, India, aged 80 (archived here).

The body of the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was returned to Kenya, where tens of thousands gathered at the airport (archived here).

President William Ruto declared a period of seven days of National Mourning, and Odinga’s body lay in state in the Kenyan Parliament, followed by other public views in Nairobi and Kisumu (archived here). At least five people died and dozens were injured in mass shootings during the mourning events (posted here and here).

Odinga was buried on October 19 at his family home in Bondo, Western Kenya, following a state funeral service in Nairobi attended by military officers and carried out by full military personnel (included here and here).

The birth of the first President of Kenya, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and a member of the Luo tribe, his first career was spent in the vision of the one party Daniel Arap MOI, who did MultiPary Politics in the 1990s (included here).

A fifth presidential contender, Odinga served as prime minister between 2008-2013 in a power-sharing government after contested 2007 elections turned violent, resulting in more than 1,100 deaths.

After Odinga’s death, false claims quickly started circulating online.

Old photo

One of the clips was published a few hours after Odinga’s death was announced.

In the clip, Odinga can be seen lying in bed as hospital staff cover him with a white sheet.

“End of an era: Witnessing the last moments of Raila Odinga,” the caption to the clip reads.

This video was also shared on Tiktok with similar claims.

AFP did a reverse image search on the keyframes from the clip and found a similar image from 2017.

This photo was published by Local Outlet Nation on July 9, 2017, in X reading the post: “NASA leader Coura Odinga admitted to Mombasa hospital, (says the agency’s spokesperson here).

Odinga was released from the hospital the next day. He explained that he was just dehydrated (saved here).

Several clues suggest that this photo was converted into a video using AI tools.

The first frame is a direct match of the first image, which is consistent with how Photo-To-Video ai tools work – they start with a still image and amplify the motion from it.

The Medical Percentant’s visible fingerprints and the sudden appearance of a pocket on his T-shirt two seconds into the Clip are also clear to fool the AI.

Desired Mourner’s Syndrome

On the same day, another clip was published on X, in a move to show Odinga’s widow, Ida Odinga, mourning at her home in Bondo, Siaya County.

“Bondo! Dr. Ida Odinga mourns her husband! Rest in peace Father Raila Opinga,” the post read.

In the clip, a woman in a red dress is seen crying loudly as some mourners text her on their phone calls, while others quickly attend her wedding.

Contrary to the claim, Odinga’s widow was at her Karen home in Nairobi the morning of his death (hence the archive here). He arrived in London to live in their house on October 18, 2025, and we did not get his accident from a reliable source in the open.

AFP Test Check carried out an image search that returned Keyframes from the clip and found another post showing a scene of mourning at Odinga’s Bondo Home following the news of his death.

A different angela shared on Tiktok confirms that the woman in the clip is not actually Odinga’s widow.

Protests in Haiti

On October 18, 2025, as Odinga’s Delles were taken to Kisumu for a public viewing at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Mambole and later shown to mourners who flooded the western streets of the western city.

“Kisumu is ready for Baba Railaca Odinga (site), “reads an Instagram post sharing the clip.

It shows the crowd chewing while advancing on the street.

We ran a reverse image search on the Keyframes from the episode and found that the footage is old and unrelated to Odinga’s death.

The same piece was published by the French broadcaster France 24 on June 10, 2019, with the title: “Protests in Haiti:” Above the future of the country “(it is archived here).

The clip comes from the 1’31” mark where the same channels are heard.

Visual clues, such as families of shops and signs, ensure that the footage was captured in the same place.

The clip was republished by the Associated Press on YouTube at the time, with the headline: “Haiti: Thousands protest fraud;

Images generated by AI

On the night Odinga was sent to Kisumu, his supporters held a vigil in the city (archived here).

A photo showing a large crowd of mourners at one such time, with a large banner reading in Swahili, “Daddy, we love you,” went viral online.

“Thank you kisumu. Father you are happy,” a post published on X Reads.

Other social media users shared the same image, saying it showed mourners in Nairobi.

“There will be no other issues. This is Enigma’s Nairobi Farewell tonight (site), “Learning is one of many things on Facebook.

Another item on the Facebook post shows an aerial view of Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu during the public viewing of Odinga’s remains.

“RIP Dad. Kisumu Mambole Stadium,” it read.

An AFP fact-check carried out a search of the recovered image and found that both the vigil and the stadium images were published on a tiktok account with the username “Norvantv254”.

Narrative began to publish visuals made with AI and there are different variations of these images, all labels labeled as AI produced by the Creator.

We have not found a photo of the vigil with the “Baba Sithanda” banner or its variation published by any reliable source.

Notably, JOME Kenyatta’s Real Genyatta platform is quite different from the one shared on Facebook.

While large crowds were indeed reported in Kisumu’s public view, air traffic published by local sources NTV shows clear differences in the structure of the facility, the roof, and the exit points (documented here).