Ida Odinga: Quiet strength behind Raila long, storied political career

In the story of Kenya’s struggle for democracy and equality, one name quietly, yet powerfully, endures: Ida Odinga.

Before she became known as a leader, advocate and the wife of one of Kenya’s most prominent figures, Raila Odinga, she was Ida Anyango Oyoo, born on August 24, 1950, a young ambitious woman who simply wanted to teach.

Chalk in hand and vision in heart, she dedicated herself to shaping young minds, unknowingly preparing for a much greater calling.

“I am a teacher. Teaching is one thing that never gets out of you, whether you are in the classroom or out of it,” she said during an interview in 2017.

She is the fourth child of her parents. Her Father, Nehemiah Oyoo from Gem, was a civil servant and medical assistant at Nyanza Hospital, while her mother Rosa, a Luhya from Khwisero, was the first fully qualified African nurse.

Ida’s story is one of strength wrapped in grace. From the classrooms to the national stage where she stood beside a political icon, she has lived a life defined by purpose, resilience and conviction.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nairobi in 1973, at the age of 24. While at university, she met her future husband, who was then working in the Department of Engineering.

In the book, ‘Raila Odinga - The Flame of Freedom’, Raila narrated how he first met Ida, offering a glimpse into the beginning of their shared journey. 

“While still at the university, we often used to go over to the ‘Box,’ as the women students’ accommodation was called, to socialise. I had a few girlfriends, and it was around 1972 that I first met the woman who would become my wife, Ida Betty Onyango Oyoo. Ida was a second-year Geography student, and my cousin Okach Ondiek was married to her cousin Anna.”

Raila was formally introduced to Ida when he accompanied Okach to visit Ida’s brother, Peter Oyoo, in Eastleigh. While chatting, Raila became increasingly interested in Ida. They agreed to meet later for a drink and dinner and exchanged addresses.

They kept in touch while Ida went to Kisumu. Raila visited her there before she returned to Nairobi, and they soon became a couple. Raila later proposed, and Ida accepted, beginning the wedding preparations.

“My brother Oburu and my cousin Eliakim Owuor went to Ida’s home to negotiate and pay the dowry, including some cows. I had to put up a house at our rural home prior to the wedding. I slept there for one night before the ceremony, which took place at St Francis Church in Kisumu,” Raila recounts in his memoirs. In 1973, their firstborn, Fidel, was born.

In 1982, Raila was detained without trial for his political beliefs. “I was a young woman in my early 30s, with three young children,” Ida recalled during a 2015 KTN interview.

“I was teaching at Kenya High School. It was a difficult time, and for many years, we were on our own. We used to call it the dark days.”

For nearly a decade, Ida carried the weight of single parenthood.

“I was a single mother for about 10 years. It wasn’t easy taking care of the children on my own. I was constantly worried about my husband in detention — you never knew if he would come back. Detention without trial ruins families.”

Her challenges went beyond loneliness and financial strain; she often feared for her safety.

“Problems were coming from the system,” she said. “I was always being watched and followed. In the mornings, when I took the children to school, there would be a car trailing me. In the evening, the same. These people were always parked at the gate.”

“We found a way to cope. We said this is an extra watchman, and in the evening, we would give him a cup of coffee,” she said, laughing.

During the same interview, Raila praised his wife for holding the family together, recalling friends who lost their marriages during detention.“They couldn’t handle the stress and pressure mounted by the system,” he said.

Ida herself was expelled from her teaching job and evicted from her Kenya High residence.

They say no parent should bury a child. But Ida and her family faced the unthinkable when their firstborn, Fidel, died on January 4, 2015.

In a May 2015 KTN interview, Ida recalled that morning. Visibly struggling to hold back tears, she said she had woken up at 4 am to pray, but unusually, her prayers focused on Fidel. Moments later, while reading the newspaper, she received a call from her daughter, Rosemary.

“She asked, ‘Mom, where are you? Are you with Dad?’ Then she said, “I just got a call from Lwam (Fidel’s wife). She says Fidel is not breathing.” That was the end of the call. I screamed and told Raila, ‘Fidel is dead.” They rushed to Fidel’s house and found an ambulance outside. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him, but it was too late.

At Fidel’s funeral, Rosemary’s moving speech gave many hope that Raila had a political heir. But two years later, in 2017, Rosemary suffered a brain haemorrhage that damaged her optic nerve and left her blind.

In 2019, after treatment in India using traditional medicine, she miraculously regained her sight.

To empower women politically, Ida founded the League of Kenya Women Voters in 1991, championing causes for women, children and health while mentoring schoolgirls.

They say behind every successful man is a woman. Yet few ask about the emotional, psychological and physical battles she fights to keep that man standing tall on the world’s stage.