- Raila Odinga Junior (born in 1979) is the son of Raila Odinga and Mama Ida
- He is married to Yvonne Wambui and the couple has one child
Many know him as the scion of the former prime minister and leader of the Orange Democratic Movement Raila Odinga. However, he is curving a niche for himself in politics and he has at times courted controversy with his views that go against the party his father leads. He does not just live off his father’s name but also writes his own story by working hard and not staying in his father’s shadow.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Age
Raila Junior was born in 1979. He will be turning 45 years old this year.
Education background
The successful businessman graduated with a BA Hon’s in Accounting and Finance from the University of Wales in 2002. In 2004, he got an MSc Finance from the University of Leeds.
Career
In an interview with The Star, he stated that he works hard just like any other Kenyan as he has bills to pay. He revealed that in his first job as an accountant, he used to earn Ksh10,000 per month and was proud of his sweat.
On a number of occasions, he has stated that he is a businessman. He is the CEO and executive producer of Creative Hub-a production company that deals in producing advertisements for mainstream media.
While most think he has it easy, he says that is not the case. The expectations people have when they see his name are more compared to other people. This means he has to put in more effort and ensure he does an exceptional job.
Having been raised up in a political background, many would expect him to turn into politics. However, in a 2019 interview with Massawe Japanni, he said that politics was not in his immediate plans. At the moment, his efforts were just in growing his business.
Family
He comes from an affluent family with Raila Odinga as his father and Ida Odinga as his mother. He is also the brother to the late Fidel Odinga, Rosemary Odinga and Winnie Odinga.
In a past interview, he reveals that losing his brother Fidel Odinga, who was the first born, was not an easy thing for him. This changed the family dynamics as Fidel used to be a great big brother who was protective of his family.
He once also stated that the first time he ever saw his father Raila Odinga physically was while he was around the age of 10 years.
This was because at the time of his birth, his father and grandfather were deep into politics and were fighting for multi party in Kenya. The volatile political environment made it hard for them to be together.
Raila Junior has been married to Yvonne Wambui for a while now. He describes her as a good wife who is always ready to stand by him no matter the circumstance.
She always stands by him even at his lowest. The businessman also reveals that the two had been married for quite a number of years before they were blessed with a child. While it did not matter to him, it was questions from the society that at times made it difficult.
Welcoming a second child
Raila Jr was elated when his wife gave birth to their second born child on 24th August when her mother was celebrating her 71st birthday.
She gave my mum @IdaOdinga the best birthday present in the world @yvejr1 thank you God bless you. ❤️ you so much ! pic.twitter.com/lpFb29pdic
— Raila Odinga Junior (@Railajunior) August 24, 2021
The qualified accountant is active on social media and posts tweets from time to time. At one time, he posted one concerning the legalization of marijuana and in an interview with Radio Jambo, he still insisted on this.
However, he said he was not championing the legalization of weed for recreational purposes but rather for medical purposes. For example, the drug is very useful in reducing pain among cancer patients.
Junior too like many other famous people has not been spared from cyber bullying. Some bloggers and social media users have had their say about his life but he revealed to Massawe that it did not matter. Most times, he does not go through what haters say.
Medical Condition
In an interview with Standard Digital Video, the scion of Raila revealed that he suffered from a noncancerous tumor at the back of his brain way back in 1985 that affected his nervous system.
