Winnie Odinga Opens Up About Grief, 8 Months After Father’s Passing

East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament Winnie Odinga has opened up about the personal challenges she has faced in the eight months following the death of her father, the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Speaking during a recent public engagement, Ms. Odinga described the period since her father’s passing on October 15, 2025, as the most difficult of her life. She recounted the traumatic experience of being in India with Odinga when he died, detailing the sudden shift from a moment of closeness to being thrust into the public eye with immense expectations .

“For the past eight months, I’ve gone through the most difficult period of my life. My dad and I were tight. In fact, I tell people I am currently going through my midlife crisis; a very traumatic event happened to me,” she stated .

She described the pressures of being asked to speak about her father and execute duties flawlessly while still processing her devastating loss . “Nobody thought or knew, really, in that moment, the things I was thinking. I was just with him, I was talking to him, I was laughing with him, I was feeling him. And then all of a sudden he went, and immediately after that, I’m being told, do this, and you have to do this, and you must do this properly and perfect,” she explained .

She also spoke of the pain of witnessing what she described as the dismantling of her father’s political legacy by individuals he had trusted. She revealed that her decision to speak out was met with criticism, with the debate shifting from the substance of her concerns to her tone and delivery. “I felt so much pain, and I spoke up, but they said that I was disrespectful. I spoke up because I knew what I was saying was correct, but then the debate then disintegrated into the manner in which I said what I said. They wanted to cut me down to size to cower me, and to some extent they succeeded,” Winnie recounted.

She hopes her experience will resonate with others navigating loss. “Grief doesn’t come with a handbook. Sometimes you’re expected to smile while carrying a weight no one can see. To lead before you’ve had the chance to heal. To be strong when you’re still trying to understand what happened,” she said. “This is my story, not of loss alone, but of resilience. And if it reminds someone that healing isn’t linear, then sharing it was worth it.”