From Prison Guard to Parliament: Bedzimba Credits Raila Odinga for Political Rise

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s death has prompted an outpouring of tributes across Kenya, including from Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba, who credits a brief encounter with Odinga during his imprisonment in the 1980s with inspiring his own political career.

In the late 1980s, Bedzimba was a young officer in the General Service Unit (GSU) assigned to Naivasha Maximum Security Prison, where Odinga was being held without trial following the failed 1982 coup. What began as a routine security posting became a turning point in Bedzimba’s life.

“I would see him every day during my shift,” Bedzimba recalled. “He used to sing freedom mantras whenever he came out of the cells for meals. His spirit was unbroken.”

Odinga’s defiance and optimism, expressed through those daily songs, made a lasting impression on the young officer, who at the time was part of a force tasked with enforcing state control. Naivasha Prison was known for holding many political detainees accused of subversion. For Bedzimba, however, it became the place where he first encountered ideas of political change.

He later said Odinga’s steadfast commitment to justice and reform pushed him to consider a future in public service. After leaving the GSU in 1992, Bedzimba spent several years in the Middle East as a security consultant. He returned to Kenya in 2001, at a time of growing political momentum for change.

Odinga, then a senior figure in the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), welcomed him into political circles. Bedzimba’s early involvement in politics was behind the scenes. He worked as head of security and campaign coordinator for Najib Balala’s parliamentary race in Mvita. With Odinga’s support, he was later nominated as a councillor in the Mombasa Municipal Council under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which Odinga led at the time.

Their political relationship deepened over the years. In 2007, Bedzimba won the Mjambere ward seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket. In 2013, he was elected Kisauni MP, a position he reclaimed in 2022 after a brief break from elective politics.

He remained a loyal ODM member and a close ally of Odinga, working alongside other coastal leaders, including Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho. Speaking after Odinga’s death, Bedzimba described him as a “towering figure” whose impact on Kenya’s democratic progress would endure.

“He fought for multi-party democracy, the 2010 Constitution, and the freedoms we enjoy today,” he said. “His death is a monumental loss not just for Kenya, but for the continent.”

Bedzimba also reflected on the personal role Odinga played in shaping his political journey. “I am what I am today because of what Raila Odinga did for me,” he said. “He held my hand and mentored me.”