When he died on January 20, 1994, exactly 25 years ago, the nation took several hours to get wind of the information.
Founding Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga died at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu but was swiftly moved to the Lee Funeral home in Nairobi.
His body was moved in an ambulance with the backing of police officers to the Kisumu International Airport and flown to Nairobi aboard a Kenya Airforce jet.
This was on an evening, hours after the then Bondo lawmaker had succumbed at the health facility.
All this time, only his family, close allies, then President Daniel Moi and senior government officials knew what was going on.
His supporters and other Kenyans, on the other hand, remained in the dark.
It was not until the opposition figure was peacefully lying at the Lee Funeral Home that the nation would learn through the national broadcaster, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) that all was not well.
And as was expected, the nation slipped into mourning once the information got out, reports the Standard.
This comes at a time when the nation is preparing to celebrate the 25th anniversary since his death.
The ceremony which has always been conducted on this particular date has been pushed to next month over what his family terms unforeseen circumstances.