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Oburu Odinga reveals decades-long torture by Anglican church over lack of English name
31st August, 2025 03:27 PM
Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga has opened up about a painful chapter of his Christian life, revealing how the Anglican Church subjected him to decades of humiliation simply because he did not have an English name.
Speaking during the president’s visit to ACK cathedral church in Alego Usonga on Sunday, August 31, 2025, Oburu said that although he has remained a lifelong Anglican, the church denied him the right to take Holy Communion for many years.
Despite the confirmation, the senator said the discrimination continued, and it was not until 2024, at the age of 80, that he was finally allowed to partake in Holy Communion.
According to him, it was already too late, as he had long felt alienated and had even married a second wife.
“This is my church, I am an Anglican, I was born Anglican, and I will be buried by the Anglican church, but I was tortured for many years by my Anglican Church; they never allowed me to take the holy communion because I did not have an English name, “Oburu revealed.
“Until last year, when I was 80years when, it was already late when I had already married a second wife.”
English name
He recalled how his father strongly resisted the pressure, insisting that there was nowhere in the Bible that required baptismal names to be English.
According to Oburu, his father even wrote to the archbishop, who confirmed that he could be baptised using African names.
He went on to say that none of his brothers have an African name, and none of them have an English name.
“My father insisted that there is nowhere in the bible where it is stated that the names from baptism must be English, and he insisted that there is nothing in the bible, and he even wrote a letter to the archbishop and got a confirmation that I should be baptised using African names,” he added.
My full name is Ng’ong’a Amollo Oburu Odinga, and my brother is Raila Amollo Odinga, and my late brother was Ang’ire Amollo Agolla.”
