Oburu Odinga
Raila Odinga’s elder brother Oburu Oginga has come out to reveal how the Azimio presidential contender was a sharp student in class throughout their early years at Kisumu Union and Maranda.
Speaking during an interview with NTV on August 7, the Siaya senatorial aspirant said that Raila always topped his class but sometimes could be in position 3 or 4.
“Raila was very bright, he was always number one in the class; I was sometimes number 3, 4 but Raila was always top of the class and he continued like that even when he went to Maranda,” Oburu said.
Raila’s academic background was brought into question during the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) screening of candidates.
His opponents questioned his academic credentials, asserting that he lacked a university degree, led by UDA presidential candidate William Ruto.
Odinga is rumored to have received some early training in Germany before returning home and beginning to teach at the University of Nairobi.
Oburu, however, disclosed that Raila earned a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering and welding while studying abroad in Germany, which helped him land a position as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi in 1971.
The former EALA MP also described how his brother Raila was taken into custody during the coup attempt in 1982. Oburu stated that he learned about his brother’s treason indictment from the Nation newspaper.
Oburu remembered visiting Kwale as a public servant to check out construction work. Then-MP Juma Boy Juma demanded that the alleged coup plotters be hanged during the event.
Raila’s mother passed away while he was detained. His family begged the ministry of home affairs to allow him to attend her funeral, but the administration of the late President Daniel Moi refused.
“When our mother died we pleaded with the ministry of home affairs to allow him to come to the funeral but they flatly refused, we were allowed to see him almost 6 months late,” Oginga recalled.
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