The Odinga family has chosen to lay Beryl Lilian Achieng Mungwari Odinga to rest at the historic Kang’o ka Jaramogi homestead in Bondo, Siaya County, bringing her final journey full circle to the land where generations of Kenya’s most prominent political dynasty rest.
The decision, announced by Raila Odinga Junior on Saturday, was made with the blessing of Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga, who returned to Kenya from Dubai on November 28 to oversee the funeral arrangements for his sister.
Beryl, who died on November 25 at a Nairobi hospital aged 78, will join her father, Kenya’s first Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and her brother, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was buried at the same homestead in October following his death in India.
The choice of Kang’o ka Jaramogi as Beryl’s final resting place speaks to the deep family bonds that have held the Odingas together through decades of political struggle and personal loss.
The homestead, whose name derives from the hard kang’o trees that once grew abundantly in the area, has become a sacred ground for the family, housing more than ten graves of Odinga family members.
Among those already buried there are Raila’s mother, Mary Adhiambo, and his son Fidel Castro Odinga, who died in 2015.
The homestead’s layout follows traditional Luo customs, with the houses of Jaramogi’s four wives arranged in a specific order that reflects cultural practices passed down through generations.
The decision to bring Beryl home to Kang’o ka Jaramogi is particularly poignant given her life of quiet dignity away from the political spotlight that defined much of her family’s existence.
While her brothers Oburu and Raila dominated Kenya’s political landscape for decades, Beryl carved out her own distinguished path in law and public administration.
She broke barriers as the first black Town Clerk of Mutare in Zimbabwe and later served as Company Secretary of the Housing Corporation of Zimbabwe. Back in Kenya, she chaired the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, a position she held until her death.
Beryl was the fourth born in the Odinga family, coming after Oburu, Raila, the late Ngire Omuodo Agola, and Dr Akinyi Wenwa. Her marriage to the late Otieno Ambala, who briefly served as Member of Parliament for Gem before his death in 1985, tied her even more deeply to the political fabric of Nyanza region.
The family’s gathering at Kang’o ka Jaramogi to select Beryl’s burial spot included Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga, who has been actively supporting the funeral arrangements. Raila Junior posted on social media that they sat down with Jakawuor to make the final decision, honouring the traditions that govern such solemn family matters.
Oburu’s return from Dubai, where he had gone for rest and reflection following the emotionally draining period after Raila’s death and the Orange Democratic Movement’s 20th anniversary celebrations, underscores the significance of Beryl’s burial. Upon landing, he went directly to Lee Funeral Home to view his sister’s body, accompanied by party members in a procession that reflected the sombre mood within ODM.
The historic homestead has been open to the public since Raila’s burial, with thousands of Kenyans visiting to pay their respects. The graves of Raila and Jaramogi stand slightly apart from the main family graveyard, about 100 metres away, with a mausoleum over Jaramogi’s grave and plans for one to be built over Raila’s.
For the people of Nyamira village, where Kang’o ka Jaramogi is located, the homestead represents more than just a burial ground. It is a living monument to a family that shaped Kenya’s democratic journey, from Jaramogi’s fight for independence to Raila’s decades-long struggle for constitutional reforms and multiparty democracy.
Local residents recall how Jaramogi settled the area after families migrated from the shores of Lake Victoria due to tsetse fly infestation. With government help, they cleared the bushes and established homes where Jaramogi raised his children with his four wives, instilling in them the values of education and service that would define the family’s legacy.
Beryl’s homecoming to Kang’o ka Jaramogi thus represents not just a burial decision, but a reaffirmation of family unity and the enduring pull of ancestral land. Despite her long illness and years spent in and out of hospital, she will return to rest among the kang’o trees that gave the homestead its name, surrounded by the family members who went before her.
The funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days, but the choice of burial site has already been made. Beryl Odinga will lie at Kang’o ka Jaramogi, where the soil holds the bones of Kenya’s political aristocracy and where the family’s story continues to unfold, one generation at a time.
