NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 6 – Raila Odinga’s absence from public limelight continues to spark a storm of speculation regarding his health. Social media is on fire with claims that the 80-year-old ODM leader is hospitalized abroad. Some say he has traveled to Europe for treatment. Others claim doctors have advised him to slow down.Then came the official denials. ODM, in a strongly worded statement, dismissed the rumours as “political theatre,” accusing opposition leaders Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka, and their allies of spreading fake news, even using AI-generated images to portray Raila as gravely ill.Raila’s spokesman, Dennis Onyango, insisted that the veteran politician was fine, saying he had simply travelled out of the country for one of his routine trips. “He is not indisposed, as prayed for by his frustrated opponents,” Onyango said, describing Raila as a man who has always been open about his health.But the explanations didn’t end the whispers. If anything, they deepened them.Why does the health of Africa’s political leaders always attract so much secrecy, denial, and speculation? Why can’t leaders who are public figures paid by public money simply tell the truth about their health?– A familiar pattern – Across Africa, the health of top leaders has long been a mystery wrapped in rumours.In 2010, Nigeria’s former President the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua vanished from public view for months. Officials insisted he was “resting,” even as his country was gripped by anxiety. When he finally died, many Nigerians felt betrayed not just by his illness, but by the secrecy that surrounded it.Zambia’s Michael Sata followed the same script. As president, he disappeared from the limelight amid reports of failing health. His ministers insisted he was “just tired.” When he died in a London hospital in 2014, even his Cabinet was caught off guard.And in Tanzania, the late President John Magufuli, a fierce Covid-19 skeptic vanished from public view in 2021. Officials blamed his absence on “sinus infections.” A week later, he was dead.It is a pattern that repeats itself again and again: leaders fall sick, their aides deny it, the rumours grow, and the truth emerges only when it’s too late.Across the Atlantic, the contrast couldn’t be sharper. In the United States, the White House routinely releases detailed medical summaries of the President’s health, often followed by press briefings. In the UK, doctors speak openly after the Prime Minister’s hospital visits. But in Africa, even minor ailments become state secrets. Why is it easier to know the health of the U.S. President than an African one? – Why the secrecy? – Part of the problem lies in Africa’s political culture, one that treats power as divine, and illness as weakness. Many leaders fear that admitting poor health will invite rebellion or political vultures. Others believe the public has no right to know what goes on in their bodies.But that secrecy comes at a cost. It breeds mistrust, fuels conspiracy theories, and opens space for misinformation. Ironically, it is the same fake news that leaders later condemn yet they help create it by staying silent.At 80, Raila remains one of Kenya’s most influential political figures. His words still shape national debate, and his endorsement can swing entire regions. That’s why any prolonged silence from him especially without clear communication instantly sparks anxiety and speculation.ODM insists that Raila has always been honest about his health, citing past disclosures when he underwent surgery in 2010 and contracted Covid-19 in 2021. But this time, many Kenyans feel something was off, not necessarily because he is unwell, but because of how both sides handled the matter.According to observers, the public deserves more than vague statements and counter-accusations. In the age of social media and AI-generated rumours, transparency is no longer optional, it’s a duty.Whether it’s Raila, Magufuli, Yar’Adua, or Sata, Africa’s leaders keep repeating the same tragic mistake hiding behind silence, secrecy, and spin.In a continent where citizens have watched their presidents vanish, die, or reappear without explanation, the trust deficit runs deep.Maybe it’s time African leaders learned that truth doesn’t weaken leadership it strengthens it. Because in the end, rumours only thrive in the dark.