Raila's Wife Ida Speaks on Why She Was Absent at Her Husband's Swearing-in

National Super Alliance (Nasa) leader Raila Odinga's wife, Ida has come out to explain why she was conspicuously missing during the swearing-in ceremony of his husband.

Raila was sworn-in as the people's president at Uhuru Park grounds in Nairobi in the absence of his wife and three Nasa co-principals; Moses Wetang'ula, Musalia Mudavadi and Kalonzo Musyoka.

However, in an interview with the Standard, Mrs Odinga said she could not make it to the ceremony as she had to attend to a family emergency touching on one of her daughters.

She also pointed out to the uncertainties that surrounded the swearing-in ceremony as another reason for her absence, but confirmed that she was solidly behind her husband's decision to take oath.

“I think the whole exercise was done in an expeditious manner, with tension here and there. They had my moral support,” Ms Odinga said.

"I may not have been there physically, but I was with him in spirit. Despite my absence, I stand firm with my husband and NASA supporters," she added.

Explaining their absence, Nasa principals Kalonzo, Mudavadi and Wetang'ula claimed that they were placed under house arrest during the swearing in of Raila.

“I had a phone conversation with Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula and we agreed that we meet and then arrange how we will go to Uhuru Park since we did not have our bodyguards. We however did not do that so after myself, Wetang'ula and Mudavadi found ourselves locked in one room,” Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka told the press on Tuesday.