Parents, siblings & sons: Names behind graves at Odinga family mausoleum

Kang'o Ka Jaramogi in Nyamira, Bondo, Siaya County, serves as the Odinga family homestead and graveyard.

This site includes a mausoleum and burial plots for key family members.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who died on October 15, 2025, at age 80 from a heart attack in India, will be interred there on October 19, 2025, next to his mother.

The site also holds the graves of other members of the Odinga family, including the family's patriarch Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya's first Vice President.

Mary Ajuma Odinga, Raila's mother

Mary Ajuma Odinga, Raila Odinga's mother and the first wife of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenya's first Vice President, died on November 5, 1984.

At the time of her death, Raila (then 39) was detained at Shimo la Tewa Prison in Mombasa following the 1982 coup attempt.

Authorities delayed informing him of his mother's death for two months.

In his autobiography, 'The Flame of Freedom,' Odinga recounts learning the news only in January 1985 from his brother, Oburu Oginga, describing the delay as a deliberate and 'most cruel' act of psychological torment by the state.

She is buried in the family graveyard at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi.

Raila Odinga specified in his will to be buried beside her within 72 hours of his death.

Fidel Castro Odinga

Fidel Castro Odinga, Raila Odinga's eldest son, died on January 4, 2015, at the age of 41 from cardiac arrest.

Named after the Cuban leader, he studied engineering in Germany and assisted in his father's political campaigns, including the 2013 election.

He was buried on January 10, 2015, at the family graveyard in Kang'o Ka Jaramogi after a service at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University grounds in Bondo.

The burial followed preparations by local elders and a committee led by Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga.

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Raila Odinga's father, died on January 20, 1994.

He served as Kenya's first Vice President from 1963 to 1966 and authored the book 'Not Yet Uhuru'.

His remains lie in the mausoleum at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi, which also functions as a museum displaying artifacts from Kenya's political history.

The site, located in Bondo sub-county, preserves his legacy as an opposition figure and at the same time a family man.

Ngire Omuodo Agola

Jaramogi's daughter, Ngire Omuodo Agola (1947–1983), was one of the first of his children to be buried at the homestead.

Her life was private, away from the political spotlight that followed her father and some of her siblings.

She passed away at the age of 36, and her grave marks a period of profound personal loss for the family.

Margret Akinyi Oginga

Also resting at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi is another of Jaramogi's daughters, Margret Akinyi Oginga (d. 1996).

Like her sister Ngire, she lived a life outside of politics.

Her death occurred just one year after the passing of her father, the patriarch Jaramogi.

Shadrack Osewe Oginga

Shadrack Osewe Oginga (1958–1999) was one of Jaramogi's sons who chose a different path from his politically active brothers.

He was a businessman who remained a private citizen throughout his life.

He passed away five years after his father and is buried among his siblings and parents at the Bondo homestead.

Raila Osewe Jr.

The graveyard also holds one of the family's most tragic losses.

Raila Osewe Jr. (1989–1992), a grandson of Jaramogi, died just days after his third birthday.

His small grave is a solemn reminder of a life that had barely begun, representing the deep and personal family history contained within the grounds.