Mama Ida Odinga lost her calm after young mourners caused disruption at the funeral of the late Beryl Odinga.
The deceased’s funeral was organised in Bondo on Saturday, December 6, and attended by high-level luminaries, including political leaders.
As the family paid tribute, a section of mourners disrupted the proceedings with noise.
The youth, who were accompanying Kasipul Member of Parliament Boyd Were, disrupted the ceremony while Kisumu County Women Representative Ruth Odinga was paying her tributes.
The goings-on prompted Ida to get out of her seat and intervene to quell the nuisance.
She lashed out at the mourners for turning a solemn event into a ground for politics.
An angry Ida took on the mourners for using the funeral to advance their masters’ political agenda.
“I hope, excuse me, can you be quiet a little. The young people outside the tent. The young people outside the tent. Young people outside the tent. Can you hear me? Can you hear me, young people outside the tent? The young people who came with various politicians outside the tent,” she stated.
Speaking on behalf of the larger Jaramogi Oginga Odinga family, Ida called the mourners to order.
She castigated the rowdy section for disrespecting the bereaved family.
Ida reminded them that the event was not a political one and declared that it would not be turned to a battleground.
“My name is Ida Odinga, and I’m talking on behalf of Jaramogi Odinga’s family. Young people are making noise outside the tent. I beg you to keep quiet. Let us send our sister in peace. We are not interested in your politics. We are not interested in your politics. Whether you are supporting a politician or not, we are not interested in that. The thing that has brought us here today is to lay our sister to rest,” she said.
Ida ordered the crowds to leave the avenue if they were not going to observe order.
She noted that the rowdy mourners had no justification to disrupt the funeral just by virtue of being Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) students.
“If you come here, that’s not your sister. She’s not your relative. Please go away or keep quiet. Go away or keep quiet. I hear you are students of Jaramogi Odinga University. That does not give you the right to come and disorganise our sister’s funeral,” she said.
Beryl will be laid to rest at her native home in Kang’o Ka Jaramogi.
She took her last breath on November 25, close to a month after her elder brother Raila Odinga died.
Beryl parted ways with her husband, the late Aggrey Ambala, which may explain why her burial will take place in her ancestral home.
Ambala, who once served as Gem’s Member of Parliament, was described as abusive toward Beryl in Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga’s memoir, In The Shadow of My Father.
Oburu recounted how Raila intervened to protect their sister from repeated acts of violence by her spouse.
Faced with the harsh realities of her marriage, Beryl, supported by Raila, walked away with her two children.
They relocated to Zimbabwe, where she was granted asylum and began her career in public service within the Harare government.
