“Room 1607”: The Clever Trick Maurice Ogeta Says He Used to Distract 10 Men Seeking Raila

Former gym instructor Maurice Ogeta has recounted how he helped veteran Kenyan politician Raila Odinga leave a Nairobi hotel unnoticed in 1997 after a group of unidentified men arrived asking to meet him without an appointment.

Speaking during a recent television interview, Ogeta recalled that he was working at the health club of the Nairobi Safari Club when more than 10 men dressed in dark suits arrived and requested to see Odinga, who was then a Member of Parliament.

The men reportedly failed to introduce themselves or explain the purpose of their visit, raising concerns about their intentions. Sensing that something might be wrong, Ogeta quickly devised a plan to get Odinga out of the hotel safely.

He gave the politician his tracksuit and a cap to help disguise his identity before leading him through an emergency exit and across the hotel kitchen.

Despite the potentially dangerous situation, Odinga remained remarkably calm. According to Ogeta, the former prime minister even stopped to pick up and eat a piece of fruit as they made their way out.

Ogeta later admitted that he was more frightened than the man he was trying to protect.

Once outside, Odinga’s official driver was waiting. However, Ogeta decided against using the vehicle, instead arranging for the politician to leave in a taxi and directing it towards Parliament.

Meanwhile, he reportedly bought himself time by telling the men that Odinga was in Room 1607 on the hotel’s 16th floor. The room, however, did not exist.

Although the true intentions of the men were never independently established, Ogeta believes his quick thinking may have helped avert a potentially dangerous encounter.

The incident also marked the beginning of a long professional relationship between the two men. Ogeta later joined Odinga’s security team and remained one of his close aides for many years.

His account provides a personal glimpse into the security concerns and uncertainties that surrounded opposition politics in Kenya during the 1990s, a turbulent period in the country’s political history.

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