A historical account shared by historian Levin Odhiambo Opiyo has stirred public discussion after revisiting the little-known circumstances surrounding the early life of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.
The narrative traces his baptism at Maseno and the broader hardships that shaped his family’s political and personal journey.
According to the account, Odinga was born in 1945 at Maseno, then a stronghold of Anglican missionary influence in western Kenya. His father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, took him and his siblings for baptism at Maseno Church.
They were reportedly turned away by a priest for lacking Christian names, as Jaramogi had chosen African names in line with his cultural beliefs.
The rejection prompted Jaramogi to complain to the Anglican diocese in Nairobi, which responded that there was no church rule prohibiting baptism using African names.
Despite this clarification, local clergy allegedly declined to conduct the baptism. A European priest later agreed to perform the ceremony, although Raila’s mother initially refused to attend after the earlier humiliation.
She later joined the service, where the children were baptised using their African names.
Opiyo situates the episode within a period of social change, when Western missionary influence often clashed with African cultural practices.
The account also revisits the broader hardships endured by the Odinga family.
It recounts how political tensions and colonial suspicions complicated Raila’s early opportunities, including difficulties securing travel documents when he was sent abroad for studies during the Cold War era.
Upon returning to Kenya in 1970, he found his father in detention and the family facing financial hardship and political isolation.
The narrative details business closures, employment barriers linked to political stigma, and personal tragedies, including the death of his brother Frederick Odima Odinga and the family’s property being auctioned in 1978.
Further adversity followed during detentions in the 1980s, when Raila lost his mother and later his brother Omuodo Agola while imprisoned.
His wife, Ida Odinga, was dismissed from her teaching position in 1988 on public interest grounds.
The historian’s post frames these experiences as formative moments that shaped Odinga’s political activism, exile, and eventual emergence as a key figure in Kenya’s multiparty struggle and national politics.