{UAH} Sister's Ode to Fidel Odinga

Folks;

Sentimentality aside, this woman is opening up a little for us to take a peep into their upbringing, especially when their father, Raila, was in detention. 

They were shunned because of who their father is. In an eulogy yesterday, Ida Odinga, their mother, disclosed that despite his love for military, Fidel could not be recruited into service because of his father's name!

Pojim

Fidel was a loving brother. We grew up together and were very fond of each other. He taught me many things and was always protective of me. I remember it was Fidel who taught me how to read. He was such an avid reader. Like daddy (Raila Odinga), Fidel was a disciplinarian. 

I remember when we were growing up and our father was detained. Children were often advised by their parents not to play with us. (Raila and his family were considered pariahs, rebels and anti-Kanu who you needed to keep a distance from). 

My brother loved football and because there was nobody allowed to play with us, he recruited me as a footballer and taught me how to be a goal-keeper. But pretty soon, he needed to be challenged on the field and he allowed me to become a centre forward and I really played that role well. That is how my goal-keeping role dissipated over time. Fidel made me love football. Like daddy, Fidel was an ardent Arsenal fan. In fact, I am the odd one out in the family because I support Manchester United in the English Premier League. 

During the 2014 World Cup finals, I was supporting Germany and Fidel was supporting Brazil. When we beat them at the semi finals, it was my turn to celebrate. But I always remember that we were inducted into the football culture by daddy. Before he went into detention, he had lots of merchandise from the teams he loved, including Brazil. 

Fidel introduced me to Gor Mahia and would tag me along to matches time and again and when I could not accompany him, I would watch from home and keep texting him until the match was over. Such is how close we were. He was good with making toys. He would make military toy vehicles and we would ride them to Kibera. In fact, it was Fidel who first took me to Kibera on a tour.

Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000146961/fidel-was-the-glue-that-bonded-our-family-together-says-sister-rosemary-odingahttp://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000146961/fidel-was-the-glue-that-bonded-our-family-together-says-sister-rosemary-odinga