The late Fidel Castro Odinga the first-born son of late Prime Minister Raila and Ida Odinga understood his destiny early in life.He is a politician’s child bearing a political name immortalising former Cuban President, and grew up in political turbulence in Kenya.
That was the 1980s and Kenya was in a restive mood. Raila was in detention, having earned the ire of the authorities as coup plotter. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Fidel’s grandfather, had been placed under house arrest.
According to Badejo, when Odinga was still a student in Germany, Castro visited the German Democratic Republic where he had the opportunity of listening to him.
Following the announcement of Castro’s death on Saturday, Mr Odinga eulogised him noting: “In many ways, Castro was a great friend and true friend of Africa and other parts of the world that had to fight long and bitter wars to attain freedom from colonialism.”Raila’s long spells in prison meant Fidel did not see much of his father. His friends say the experience hardened him.
Fidel was born in 1973, the late Fidel attended Consolata Primary in Westlands before moving to Mbeji Academy in Siaya for his secondary school education from 1989 to 1992. He later proceeded to India for his post-secondary education where he stayed for one year before transferring to the US, where he completed his studies and continued living and working.
His first marriage, to Veronica Wanjiru Ng’ang’a, a Kikuyu woman from Central Kenya, was a high-profile union that briefly symbolized ethnic harmony in a divided nation.
But it unraveled amid whispers of infertility, alcoholism, and political maneuvering, fading into obscurity after their 2011 divorce.
Veronica, often dubbed Fidel’s “mysterious first wife,” retreated from the spotlight, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions about their split and her enduring ties to the Odinga estate.
Fidel was widely seen as the political heir to his late father, Raila Odinga.
He was groomed for leadership within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and was expected to eventually take over the Luo political mantle and possibly run for president.
Unlike many older Kenyan politicians, Fidel was charismatic, well-educated (he studied at the University of Nairobi and later in the UK), fluent in English and Swahili, and comfortable with social media. He appealed strongly to younger voters and the urban middle class.