By Wanja Waweru
Leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Raila Odinga has described how he was once detained by police in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria.
Mr. Odinga remembered an event from 2003 when he was performing his official duties as an election observer in Nigeria and was stopped by the police for being in a restricted area where the public was prohibited because of the electoral process.
He claimed that the police had tried to arrest him because of his “resemblance” to Nigerians, but his driver saved the day.
“One time I was arrested in Lagos when I was observing an election… I was told that don’t you know that today people are not allowed to be driving? The driver told him – I’m carrying Oga (my boss),” Mr Odinga said.
The ODM party leader added that even after telling them that he was not a Nigerian, the policemen insisted that he was, and asked him to stop lying to them.
“Eventually when I showed them my passport they realized I’m not a Nigerian,” Mr Odinga recounted.
The former Prime Minister recalled the incident in his address during the 2022 Leadership Conference and Awards on Tuesday.
