Ida Odinga, the spouse of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga recounted her first ever interaction with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Speaking during the 30th Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Anniversary in Kisumu, Idah said Raila had lied to her that they would go for a ride in Kisumu.
At the time, they went through bushes and villages and eventually arrived at a well-organized homestead in Kisumu.
Upon raising suspicion of what Raila was up to, her then boyfriend, as she put it, confirmed her fears that they were at Jaramogi’s home and that she was about to meet the man who served as Kenya’s first Vice President.
While recounting the experience, Idah said she was scared of the idea that she was just about to be introduced to Raila’s father and feared that she was not properly dressed for such an occasion.
“I was so shocked, I said why did you not tell me that we were coming to your home because I would have prepared myself and even dress wise,” she recounted.
She, however, held on and eventually met Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Jaramogi gives Ida Odinga Ksh 200
According to Idah, Jaramogi gave her a warm reception and even gifted her some Ksh200 to buy a “soda” on her way home which by then, some 50 years ago, was good money.
Subsequent to her first introduction, Ida said Raila’s family made very fast arrangements to see them get married.
What followed was a period of mixed moments in the family. Idah, a former teacher, went on to narrate the lows and highs with the Odinga family.
According to her, Jaramogi was always kind to her daughters-in-law and even made sure to present gifts to them on special occasions.
On the other hand, the family- owing to its political stances, faced some dark moments among them the time Raila Odinga was convicted for treason.
At the time, a worried Ida went to Jaramogi to seek advice as fears of what the then government would do to her husband gripped.
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She narrated having read that death was the only punishment for treason, a discovery she notes left her worried.
But upon sharing her fears with Jaramogi, the former Vice President laughed and assured her that nothing of that nature would happen to Odinga was at the time confined at the Kamiti Prison.
How Ida found a father in Jaramogi
Despite having lost her biological father at an early age, Ida revealed how interacting with Jaramogi made get a feeling of what having a father meant.
“My father died when I was about 7 years old,” she recounted.
Also Read: TBT: Ida Odinga Shares Photos, Memories on Why She Named Her Daughter Winnie
“When I met Jaramogi and I became one of her daughters-in-law he loved dearly, and I told myself, so this is how people with fathers feel. His passing actually still hurts us up to today.”
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was born in October 1911. He went on to become a prominent person in Kenya’s struggle for independence combining forces with some of the native Kenyan elite politicians.
Decades later, Jaramogi breathed his last on January 20, 1994, leaving behind a rich legacy and a prominent name.
Raila and his brother Senator Oburu Oginga are some of Jaramogi’s famous children.
