Fidel Odinga’s widow, Lwam Gatechew Bekele, for the first time described him in a moving tribute at his requiem mass at All Saints Cathedral on Thursday.
“My Love where do I even begin? You defied all preconceptions, you made me laugh without a reason,” she said.
An emotional Lwam moved the mourners to tears in a short letter to her love. She surrendered her future and that of her one-and-a-half-year-old son to God.
“The living God who gave you to me will be there for us,” she said. Ida Odinga, Fidel’s mother, reassured Lwam in her own moving tribute.
“He has left a wife and that is our daughter and we will love you Lwam, you are an Odinga,” Ida said. She told mourners how at 18 Fidel said he wanted to go to a nightclub for the first time.
“I told him one, to buy your own Soda. Two, girls are not toys, respect them,” she said. President Uhuru Kenyatta said Fidel Odinga was a man who held no grudges and did not associate himself with tribalism.
“In December, Fidel Odinga called me and he wanted us to meet and I agreed but unfortunately that never came to pass,” he said. He added that the cause of death will be determined. “To Lwam we are as open to you as we were to Fidel, we are your elder brothers,” Uhuru said.
His father, Raila Odinga, said Fidel Odinga was a young, humble and humorous man, whose names ‘Castro’ and ‘Odinga’ earned him both friends and enemies.
Deputy President William Ruto who was among the dignitaries at the mass described Fidel’s death as a big loss.
“Castro’s death is not only a loss to his family and friends but to the wider Kenyan family,” Ruto said. His sister Winnie said he was an intelligent, independent and good elder brother. Fidel Odinga’s uncle Oburu Odinga spoke on behalf of the family.
“If his death was as a result of human hand, that person really calculated and hit us below the belt,” he said.
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka said Fidel Odinga stood for the good of the country. On behalf of his friends, Joe Nyaga said Fidel Odinga was a loving and true friend who taught them a lot about life.
“He taught us to live the life we love and love the life we live, life is short,” he said. Fidel will be buried in Bondo on Saturday. More than 10,000 mourners are expected.