Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) secretary general Catherine Omanyo said on Monday that party leader and Siaya senator Oburu Oginga was in hospital but recovering well, and dismissed reports circulating online about his health as "yellow journalism".
Omanyo, speaking in a live interview on KBC TV on Monday 12 October, said Oburu was hospitalised but in a stable condition, and that she intended to visit him after the interview.
"The party leader was unwell, but as we speak, he is recuperating well and is just resting. People should not kill him before his time. He's okay. Ignore the yellow journalism we are seeing everywhere trying to kill him, and yet he's so alive and kicking."
Oburu, who turns 83 on Thursday, took over the leadership of ODM after the death of his younger brother, Raila Odinga, in October 2025, and was ratified as party leader in March.
He is being treated in Kenya, Omanyo says
Omanyo said Oburu was receiving treatment within the country, dismissing suggestions that he had been flown abroad for care.
"In fact, after here, after the other interview, I'll go to just say hello. So he's within the country? He's okay. He is in Kenya."
“The ODM secretary general, Catherine Omanyo, said the party leader was being treated in Kenya and was expected home within two days.”
The party expects him home within two days
She said the senator was expected to leave hospital "either today or tomorrow" — Tuesday 13 or Wednesday 14 October — and asked Kenyans to be patient about his absence from public events.
"It's not a must you see the party leader every day on the screen, but he's so alive and kicking."
Omanyo, who is also the Busia County woman representative, said his age had fed the speculation around his health. "Every family, every institution has their challenges. Our party leader, at his age, age comes with some challenges," she said.
She rejected talk of his death as irresponsible and unverified. "The death that they are talking about does not choose a child or old. It comes to all of us, so we are not praying for anybody to die prematurely," she said.
Omanyo said she would check on him after the interview. ODM expects him home by Wednesday 14 October.
How we reported this
Built on Catherine Omanyo's live interview on KBC TV on Monday 12 October 2026. Quotes are taken from that broadcast; the details of Oburu Oginga's expected discharge were cross-checked against other reports of the same interview.
