41-year-old Fidel Odinga is said to have been an easygoing person, who never found fault with his friends. He had established businesses and cut a niche for himself among his peers. Fidel was known to have invested in petroleum and real estate, and had an office block in Nairobi’s Kilimani area.
Fidel Odinga, though, is said to have been very active on the social scene. He frequented many popular joints in most urban centres across the country, but mainly in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. He loved his whiskey brands and would often find his way into the news for both wrong and right reasons.
In June last year, he was fined Sh30,000 by a Nairobi court after he pleaded guilty to drink-driving. One of the friends with him on Saturday night was Mr Robert Kimuchu Gichuru, son of former Kenya Power Managing Director Samuel Gichuru.
In September, Mr Gichuru was charged in court with killing a cyclist through dangerous driving on a Nairobi street. The Range Rover he was driving belonged to Fidel.
Growing up, Fidel Odinga attended Consolata Primary in Westlands before proceeding to Mbeji Academy in Siaya County for his High School education from 1989 to 1992, a school which belonged to the late Thomas Ogembo, founder of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology.
He then proceeded to India for his post-secondary education, where he stayed for one year before transferring to Washington DC in the US. He completed his studies and continued living and working there.
He returned home just before the 2002 elections, after which Narc formed the Government.
In July 28 2012, Fidel Odinga married an Eritrean beauty Lwam Gatchew Bekele, who has stayed clear of the limelight. This was after divorcing his first wife Veronica Wanjiru over what close friends termed as irreconcilable differences.
The two had been married at a colourful wedding ceremony held in 2007. His second wedding, though, was closely guarded and devoid of the colour and pomp that had characterized his first wedding. The wedding took place at the Orthodox Church in Nairobi.
Although in the last general elections Fidel Odinga was widely expected to contest for the Lang’ata/Kibra parliamentary seat, Fidel chose not. However, word has it that he was expected to take a plunge into politics in 2017.
