The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has set the record straight, stating that the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga was a faithful member of the church.
Speaking Sunday, during the funeral service held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University Grounds, David Kodia, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bondo, recounted how controversy stalked Raila even in the church when a white priest refused to baptise him because he had not been given an English name, which was the common practice due to colonialism and Christian missionary work.
“Raila Odinga was a faithful member of this diocese and St. Peter’s Parish, Nyamira. “It is a great loss for St. Peter’s Church because of the enormous presence of the Raila family. It is now a ‘minus one’,” he said.
He was, however, baptised after the intervention of the Canterbury. His confirmation, which took a long time, happened when he visited the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, paving the way for him to receive Holy Communion for the first time at St. Peter’s, his home church.
Bishop Kodia said they were giving the ODM leader a full Christian burial, regretting that they could not hold a Holy Communion service due to time constraints and the nature of his state funeral send-off.
The Bishop will preside over the committal and benediction at the gravesite.
