Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who passed away on Wednesday, October 15, in India, was the second son of the late Kenya’s first Vice President, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and Mary Ajuma Odinga.
While speaking at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Nyamira, Bondo, Siaya County, the curator of the Jaramogi Mausoleum, Matthew Otieno, revealed that Raila had eight siblings — some still alive and others deceased.
Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Nyamira, Bondo, serves as the Odinga family homestead and graveyard. The site includes a mausoleum and burial plots for key family members.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who died on October 15, 2025, at the age of 80 from a heart attack in India, will be interred there on October 19, 2025, next to his mother’s grave.
The site also hosts the graves of other members of the Odinga family, including the family’s patriarch, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Full List of Raila Odinga’s Siblings: Alive and Dead
Oburu Odinga
The firstborn in the Odinga family is Dr. Oburu Oginga, the current Senator of Siaya County, followed by the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Oburu, who was born in 1943, attended the Soviet Secondary School in Moscow, Russia from 1962-1964, where he completed his Secondary School Certificate.
He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics from People’s Friendship University. Additionally, he holds a doctorate (PhD) from the University of People’s Friendship, which he earned in 1970.
In 2022, he was elected as the Senator for Siaya County, and he serves as the Energy Committee Chairperson in the Senate.
Odinga’s political career began in 1974 when he was elected as a councilor in Kisumu Municipality. From 1981 to 1994, he served as an economist in the Ministry of Planning and National Development.
In 1994, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Bondo Constituency, a seat that was previously held by his father. He also served as the Assistant Minister of Finance in the Grand Coalition government in 2008.
From 2013 to 2017, Dr Oburu served as a nominated Member of Parliament. He also represented Kenya in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) as a member of parliament and commissioner from 2018 to 2022.
In 2021, he authored his autobiography, “In the Shadow of My Father,” detailing his life and political journey.
Ngire OmuodoAgola
Next in line was Ngire Omwuoda Agola, born in 1947, who passed away in 1983.
Agola was among the first of Jaramogi’s children to be buried at the family homestead.
Omuodo Agola died shortly after coming out of prison, where he had been confined on an allegation of causing an accident.
Agola was diabetic and depended on regular insulin injections to control his blood glucose. But for unknown reasons, prison authorities blocked his medication, worsening his condition.
He was taken to Kakamega Hospital by prison officers who chained him to his hospital bed. Even though Omuodo was later freed by the court, which found him not guilty of the offense, it was too late because diabetes had completely ravaged his health.
He died at the age of 36.
Also Read: Indian Cardiologist Reveals Raila Odinga’s Last Moments as Medics Tried to Save Him
Dr Akinyi Wenwa
After Agola came Dr. Akinyi Wenwa, a former ambassador. Dr. Akinyi is a retired Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at the University of Nairobi and a former Consul General at the Kenya Consulate in Los Angeles, USA.
She has extensive experience in the public sector, having worked at the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya in Nakuru, where she rose from Senior Chemist in charge of Research and Development to Chief Chemist — becoming the first woman to head a department in the organization.
In terms of governance, she has served on several boards, including the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), the Kenya National Archives Board, the Bondo Technical Training Institute, and the Maseno School Board.
She is also the patron of Atilili School in Bondo and Nyatindo School in Oyugis, Homa Bay County.
Currently, she serves as a Commissioner on the Homa Bay County Revenue Board, where she chairs the Human Resource Committee and oversees the county’s health revenue stream and Rachuonyo South Sub-county.
Beryl Achieng
Following Akinyi is Beryl Achieng.
Beryl completed her Form Six (‘A’ Levels) studies in December 1972. She is a professional teacher and lawyer. She made history as the first black Town Clerk of Mutare, Zimbabwe’s third-largest city.
After returning to Zimbabwe as a bona fide resident, Beryl rebuilt her life and career, later serving as Company Secretary of the Housing Corporation of Zimbabwe.
She also served as the Chairperson of the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC), having been formally appointed to the board in January 2020.
During Oburu’s birthday celebration in October 2023, Beryl revealed that she was a classmate of former Wiper Patriotic Front party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.
Beryl married Otieno Ambala in 1974, an aspiring legislator who later died of a heart attack in 1985 while at Kodiaga Prison.
In Raila’s 2014 biography, The Flame of Freedom, he recounted how his sister was trapped in an abusive marriage. Ambala, who viewed the Odinga family as a political stepping stone, became the Member of Parliament for Gem after a stormy start to their marriage.
Fredrick Odima Oginga
After Beryl, Fredrick Odima was born in 1954 and died in 1975 at the age of 21. It is alleged that Odima committed suicide at the home of the late Achieng’ Oneko in Woodley Estate, Nairobi, where he was being accommodated.
Omondi Oginga
Next was Master Omondi Oginga, born in January 1956, who passed away in September the same year as an infant.
Shadrack Osewe
He was followed by Shadrack Osewe, born in 1958, who died in 1999. Osewe was a businessman who lived a private life.
Osewe was the last born son of Jaramogi.
He passed away five years after his father’s death and is buried among his siblings and parents at the family homestead in Bondo.
Also Read: Inside the Famous Opoda Farm, Raila Odinga’s Political Shrine
Ruth Odinga
The youngest member of the Odinga family is Ruth Odinga.
Ruth has held several political positions, including serving as the Deputy Governor of Kisumu between 2017 and 2022.
She was later elected as the Kisumu Woman Representative in 2022, a position she currently holds.
Ruth Odinga began her education at Xaverian Primary School in Kisumu, where she earned the East African Certificate of Primary Education (EACPE) in 1973.
She then completed her East African Advanced Certificate of Education (EAACE) at The Kenya High School in 1981.
In 1983, she attended Mutare Girls High School in Zimbabwe to complete her A Levels.
Ruth Odinga pursued higher education at the University of Oslo, where she earned a degree in social science in 1985 and a postgraduate certificate in development studies in 1989.
She began her career in the private sector, and her experience includes leadership roles at Spectre International Limited, where she was Managing Director and Director of Sales, Marketing & CSR from 2005 to 2011.
Later, she served as the Chief Executive Officer from 2011 to 2013.
She also held the position of Managing Director at Petro Plus Africa from 2002 to 2005 and worked as a Development Officer in London and with the African Community Development Association from 1998 to 2002.
Earlier in her career, she taught Geography at Marina International High School in Gambia (1992–1995)
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