The Phoenix Rising

Rosemary Odinga, 41-year-old first-born daughter of political powerhouse Raila Odinga, opens up to CATE ODERA about surviving a stroke, her lowest moment and how she’s tackling the way forward.

- Cate Odera

We are seated in the conservatory of Raila and Ida Odinga’s family home, overlooking the lush garden. It’s 10 December 2018 and a typical cold day in Karen, but this room allows in enough sun to warm up the space.

We have just been taken on a little tour of the house, where we spotted numerous photographs of dignitaries, dead and alive, who’ve come into contact with the former Prime Minister and his family over the years. Odingas’ first-born son, the late Fidel Odinga, features in some of them, and TRUE LOVE photographer Emmanuel Jambo shows me the pictures he took of the family.

As we wait for Rosemary to make her way down, Emmanuel gets up, but only to queue music on his laptop in readiness for the shoot. Winnie Odinga, Rosemary’s youngest sibling, strolls in and immediately recognises him. She then turns to shake my hand before proceeding to counsel us on what to expect when Rosemary appears. She will also fill in any gaps in Rosemary’s story.

In another time, this interview would have been one of her sister’s communication strategies for her administrative duties, but not today. Just as Rosemary Odinga was gearing up for an elective post in 2017, she suffered a devastating stroke that left her partially blind and paralysed, with short-term memory problems. Understandably, Rosemary has put her political ambitions aside to focus on healing and recovery.

She shuffles into the conservatory with a slight limp, guided by her close friend Carol Achieng who is often seen by her side in public.