Winnie Odinga recalls complex father-daughter relationship with Raila
By Cynthia Lodite, January 27, 2026Winnie Odinga, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP and former Prime Minister, the late Raila Odinga’s daughter, has come out publicly describing her relationship with her father.
Speaking in an interview with a local media house on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, Winnie remarked on how difficult it was to discuss their relationship after his passing, but noted they often disagreed on some issues.
“My relationship with my father is quite a difficult topic to discuss; we had a very complex relationship,” Winnie said.
“For the last 15 years, I have worked at his side, no matter the dispensation. We are similar in a lot of ways, but in a lot of ways, we were different. We used to challenge each other, we used to test each and push each other,” she added.
Raila carried several roles
According to the legislator, Raila was not just a father but also carried several roles, which included that of a mentor, a party leader and, on top of it, her best friend.
“He was my father, he was my party leader, he was my mentor, but he was also my closest friend,” Winnie explained.
Winnie further revealed the challenges she has had to go through, coping with the death of his father, describing how difficult it has been since his passing on
“Coping with this difficult time without him has been quite difficult,” she added.
Nonetheless, Winnie Odinga declined to divulge on her last conversation with the late Raila Odinga, insisting that what they discussed was not for public consumption.
“They were deeply personal and I feel it would be disrespectful of me to share those personal conversations that I had in private with the public. Not every conversation we had was for public consumption. The night before he passed, we sat in his room for two hours discussing everything. There are very many people who may now say that the party leader may have said this and that. I feel it is not incumbent of them to bring that into the forefront. I think it is disrespectful to the departed and I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to discuss that,” Winnie Odinga made it clear.
They used him
Her conversation came just a few days after she openly criticised some leaders within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) for using her late father, Raila Odinga, for personal gain.
Speaking at a rally at Kamukunji Grounds on Sunday, January 18, 2026, Winnie accused opportunists of joining the party not to uphold Raila’s vision but to exploit his legacy.
Winnie used a striking bus analogy to explain the state of the party after Raila’s death.
“On this journey, we were passengers, and Baba was the driver. One day, we woke up and were shocked. The driver had died. He had passed away,” she said at Kamukunji grounds.
“Slowly, some people moved to the front, grabbed the steering wheel, and pulled it in different directions. They pushed us, the passengers, to the back. They forgot that Baba died only yesterday. Why the rush? Stop the bus. Let us talk. Let us decide together and move forward.”
She warned that not everyone in ODM truly believed in Raila’s vision.
“We see that not everyone among us who believed in Baba was genuine. Some were just using him,” she said.