Raila Odinga Junior was on Thursday officially installed as the new head of the Odinga family during a traditional ceremony held at their ancestral home in Bondo, Siaya County.
The ceremony came just days after the burial of his father, the late former Prime Minister and ODM leader Raila Odinga, who passed away on October 15, 2025, in India while receiving treatment. The late opposition leader was laid to rest on Sunday in a state funeral that featured a 17-gun salute by the Kenya Defence Forces.
The colorful installation event was rich in Luo cultural practices, marked by traditional songs, dances, and rituals performed to bless Raila Jr. as he assumed his new role.
According to Siaya Senator and the late Odinga’s elder brother, Dr. Oburu Oginga, the ceremony signified the official transfer of leadership within the Odinga family.
“It is a ceremony involving rites to give blessings to the new head of the family according to our culture,” Dr. Oburu said. “The shaving will be done by one of Junior’s grandmothers, and he will be given the necessary instruments of power and display them.”
Family members, relatives, and community elders attended the event, where Raila Jr. was presented with a traditional Luo shield and draped in an animal skin cloak — powerful symbols of authority and continuity in Luo culture.
Luo tradition dictates that the eldest surviving son automatically takes over as the head of the family following the death of his father. Raila Odinga Junior now steps into that role as the Odingas begin a new chapter of family leadership after the death of his elder brother, Fidel Castro Odinga, in 2015.
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