More heartbreak for Odinga family: Raila’s sister Beryl Achieng dies in Nairobi

NAIROBI – Beryl Achieng Odinga (78), the youngest sister of the late Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the capital Nairobi.

Her death marks more tragedy for the Odinga family coming just six weeks after the demise of Raila, who passed away on October 15, 2025, in India.

Raila’s 2014 biography, The Flame of Freedom confirms how Beryl endured an abusive marriage, which eventually led her to flee Kenya in the 1980s with her children.

The government in Zimbabwe granted her asylum and she began working for the Ministry of Local Government.

It was widely speculated that she was romantically involved with the late Zimbabwean politician and national hero Edgar Tekere.

She made history in Zimbabwe after becoming the first black Town Clerk of Mutare before later serving as Company Secretary at the Housing Corporation of Zimbabwe.

Beryl is also credited with contributing to the design of the planning policy for the Chitungwiza Town, which was later implemented during her tenure as Town Planning Director at Chitungwiza Town Council (CTC).

She leaves behind children Ami Auma, Chizi, and Taurai.