Mourners gathered under a heavy December sky at Kang’o ka Jaramogi on Saturday to bid farewell to Beryl Achieng’ Odinga, the elder sister of Kenya’s opposition icon Raila Odinga.
Just 42 days after the former prime minister himself was buried at the same family mausoleum, politics once again eclipsed personal grief as senior opposition figures used the funeral to demand the revival of a stalled national dialogue and justice for hundreds of youths killed in anti-government protests.
Beryl Odinga, who died aged 72 after a long illness, was remembered by her sisters as a bold, fiercely protective figure who had penned a moving tribute to Raila only weeks before her own death. “Who would have thought that six weeks later we would be here mourning you?” asked Dr Wenwa Akinyi Odinga, her voice cracking. Ruth Odinga, the youngest sibling, described Beryl as “my first friend and constant protector” who would plait her hair up to three times a day.
Yet even as family members fought back tears, the podium quickly became a platform for Kenya’s unresolved political battles.
Opposition pushes for national dialogue revival
DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa, speaking metres from the open grave, called for the full implementation of the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco) report, a bipartisan document agreed last year between Raila Odinga’s Azimio coalition and President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration. The report, meant to address electoral reforms and police accountability, has largely gathered dust despite promises from both sides.
“With the High Court having thrown out the compensation taskforce set up by the president, there is no better time to return to Nadco,” Wamalwa declared. He reminded the crowd that more than 200 young Kenyans – many from Nyanza region – lost their lives during the 2023 Azimio demonstrations and the 2024 Gen-Z-led protests against the Finance Bill. “Baba fought for justice for these victims. That fight must continue.”
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, a university classmate of the deceased, echoed the demand. “I cannot sit quietly when people’s rights are trampled,” he said, pledging his unwavering loyalty to the Odinga family.
In a thinly veiled message to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leadership now steering the party after Raila’s death, both men urged the new guard not to forget old allies. “Even if you make new friends, remember where your real friends are,” Wamalwa said, glancing toward Kalonzo.
ODM addresses leadership and future ambitions
Inside ODM itself, the succession question hovered like a storm cloud. Party chairman Oburu Oginga, Beryl’s elder brother and now the most senior family member in active politics, firmly rejected suggestions of a leadership vacuum. “Raila left very big shoes and I have been asked to wear them. There is no vacuum. Let us stay united,” he insisted.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir went further, signalling ODM’s ambition for the 2027 election. “We will not be in opposition forever. We will either form the next government or be part of it,” he said to applause.
Siaya Governor James Orengo, a long-time Odinga confidant, used the occasion to criticise what he called growing arrogance in the current administration. Contrasting the Ruto era with the Kibaki years, he warned against public officials who “dictate rather than serve”. He urged the party to listen to ordinary Kenyans and make space for younger, dissenting voices.
A family legacy amid political maneuvering
As the casket was lowered beside Raila’s grave, the contrasting scenes told their own story: tearful relatives on one side, politicians already manoeuvring for the next electoral contest on the other.
For the Odinga family, still raw from burying Kenya’s most enduring opposition figure, Saturday was another painful reminder that in their world, personal loss and national politics are inseparable.
Beryl Achieng’ Odinga was laid to rest in the same red earth that now holds her brother, mother and father – founding president Jaramogi Oginga Odinga – leaving Kenyans to wonder whether the political fire that defined the family will burn as brightly in the next generation.
