Raila Junior installed as head of Odinga family
By Nancy Marende, October 23, 2025The Odinga family has officially installed Raila Odinga Junior as the new head of the family, succeeding his late father, Raila Amollo Odinga, in a traditional ceremony held at their Bondo home in Siaya County.
The symbolic event, conducted before family members, Luo elders, and close friends, marked the formal transfer of household leadership to Raila Junior, a deeply rooted tradition among the Luo community that signifies continuity, unity, and respect for lineage.
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Speaking during the ceremony on Thursday, October 23, 2025, Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga explained that the installation was part of Luo cultural practices meant to mark the end of the mourning period and to ensure continuity of leadership within the home.
“This is a traditional ceremony, which is a very short one performed before the camera because it is not a secret. It is a symbolic ceremony to hand over the seat of power in the home to Junior Raila, the son of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He is now the leader of the home together with his mother.”
Furthermore, Oburu emphasised that the new role is not political, but purely cultural and familial.
“The mother will give him the advice he needs, but he must stand firm and lead the home as per our traditions. This is not political leadership; it is the leadership of the home,” he clarified.
He went on to explain the structure of leadership within the extended Odinga family, noting that the overall cultural leadership still remains under his guidance.
“In the larger Odinga family, which I chair, Junior will still be under me , just like his father was under me when it came to the cultural leadership of the home,” he said.
Dr. Oburu also highlighted the significance of the timing of the ceremony, which took place four days after Raila’s burial, marking the official end of mourning according to Luo customs.
“We are doing this because today is the fourth day since my brother was buried on Sunday. If we count from Sunday to last night, it is exactly four nights. And in our culture, after four days, the funeral officially ends,” he explained.
Raila Junior now assumes the role of family head, charged with guiding and uniting the household alongside his mother, Mama Ida Odinga, as the family upholds the traditions and values that have long defined one of Kenya’s most influential families.