With the burial of Beryl Achieng Odinga happening on Saturday, December 6, at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi in Nyamira, Bondo Sub-county, Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga has set the record straight.
Mr Oginga explained to the elders the decision to go against the Luo cultural practice that requires a woman to be buried in her matrimonial home.
Dr Oginga, who was attending the coronation of Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Mr Opiyo Wandayi as a Luo elder at Sidindi in Ugunja, noted that the decision had been made long before.
The Odinga family has been on the receiving end over their decision to bury their sister, facing criticism from the community and elders.
The late Beryl Achieng, who was the youngest sister of former Prime Minister the late Raila Odinga.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Dr Oginga pointed out: “Things are fast changing. And my father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, had set up a family cemetery where we shall all be buried.”
He added: “The Luos buried their kin in their homes, famously known as gunda. Those homes would later become farms because people were building mud and grass-thatched houses. Today, everyone is looking for comfort, and urbanisation is fast catching up with the rural homes.”
We cannot continue having graves in every home. Those homes are properties that other people will come and live in. So let us embrace change.”
In Luo culture, once a woman is married and dowry is paid, she no longer belongs to her people. Even after separation or divorce, the culture compels the man to pick the body and bury it at his home. This is not only a sign of respect but also a source of order.
Luo Ker, Odungi Randa, had earlier added his voice to the discourse, calling on Dr Oginga to reconsider the decision, saying it was not in tandem with tradition.
He asked the Odinga family to consider postponing the burial date of their kin Beryl until her controversial burial ground is settled.
Beryl, younger sister of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is to be laid to rest at the family cemetery at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi, a move that has been viewed as going against Luo traditions and customs.
For many, the Odinga family—perceived as custodians of Luo culture—should adhere to tradition and not bury her at her father’s home, but instead outside, close to the fence.
According to Luo traditions, Beryl should be buried outside her father’s homestead since, having been married, it is believed she had established a home elsewhere.
Beryl married her first husband, Otieno Ambala, in 1974. At the time, he was an aspiring legislator. He would later be elected Gem MP but died of a heart attack in 1985 while at Kodiaga Prison over the murder of hi political rival Horace Owiti Ongili.
In his memoir The Flame of Freedom, her brother Odinga detailed how the former Premier rescued his sister from an abusive marriage and helped her relocate to Zimbabwe.
She divorced Ambala before his death, and at the time of her death, she was the widow of the late John Tamisayi Mungwari.
According to culture, she is a daughter of the home, referred to as migogo in Dholuo.
An unmarried woman, or migogo, was buried outside the homestead—sometimes near the fence—signifying that she was not yet part of another family.
Some were interred either behind their grandmother's house if the family was still dwelling at the grandparents' home, or behind their father's house, a distance away from the family residence, with her head facing away from the home.
On Thursday, Chairman of the council, Ker Odungi Randa, said council members went to Kang'o.
Mr Randa said they conveyed their thoughts to Dr Oburu Oginga, head of the Odinga family, and issued an advisory on the matter.
"We met as elders and handed over our resolutions to the Odinga family through a person called Ismael. Among our recommendations was that a piece of land be offered or purchased outside the homestead where Beryl is laid to rest because she is a migogo," said Mr Randa.
He added: “Migogo ok ik ei dala, iike e bath chiel (A daughter of the home cannot be buried inside her father's home; she is to be interred outside, near the fence). Jaramogi had many parcels of land, so they should pick one to bury Beryl.”
Dr Oginga, however, noted that the decision was made at the family level and should not be a subject of public discussion.
“This is a family matter; we don’t force the Luo community to follow whatever we have done. People are at liberty to bury wherever they feel; they can also bury in public cemeteries. So to my elders, let us rest that matter there,” he concluded.
The family has received support from a section of the public, including prominent leaders.
Mbita lawmaker Milly Odhiambo joined the debate online and castigated those opposed to Beryl being buried at her father’s home.
“All those who firmly opine that Beryl Odinga should be buried according to Luo customs, please confirm that your six lower teeth have been removed in strict conformity to culture!!” wrote the lawmaker on her Facebook page.
Culturally, even Raila Odinga was supposed to be buried at his Opoda Farm; however, to show the liberal nature of the family, he was taken back to Kang’o Ka Jaramogi and buried next to his father, Kenya’s founding Vice President.
