RAILA AMOLO ODINGA

🇰🇪 Curriculum Vitae of His Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga (1945 – 2025)

"A Life of Service, Sacrifice, and Statesmanship."

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Personal Information

Full Name: Raila Amolo Odinga
Date of Birth: 7th January 1945
Place of Birth: Maseno, Kisumu District, Kenya
Parents: Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Mary Ajuma Odinga
Marital Status: Married to Mama Ida Betty Odinga
Children: Fidel (late), Rosemary, Raila Jr., and Winnie Odinga
Nationality: Kenyan

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Education Background

• 1949 – 1954: Kisumu Union Primary School
• 1955 – 1959: Maranda Intermediate School
• 1960 – 1962: Maranda High School
• 1962 – 1970: Technical University of Magdeburg, Germany
  (Graduated with a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering)

He also pursued further training in welding, design, and energy systems while in Germany, gaining a solid foundation that would later guide his work in industrial development in Kenya.

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Professional Career

• 1971 – 1974: Lecturer, University of Nairobi (Department of Engineering)
• 1974 – 1978: Group Standards Manager, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
• Founder: East African Spectre Ltd — a gas cylinder manufacturing company that became one of the first major African-owned industrial firms in Kenya.

Raila Odinga’s early professional life was marked by discipline, technical brilliance, and a deep desire to see African innovation thrive.

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Political Journey

Raila Odinga’s political life was one of courage, resilience, and relentless advocacy for democracy and justice.

• 1982: Detained without trial following the failed coup attempt — served nine years in detention for political activism.
• 1992: Joined Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD) under his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
• 1994: Formed National Development Party (NDP).
• 2001 – 2002: Minister for Energy, Government of Kenya.
• 2003 – 2005: Minister for Roads, Public Works and Housing under President Mwai Kibaki’s government.
• 2008 – 2013: Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya in the Grand Coalition Government.
• 2023 – 2025: African Union High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa.

Throughout his career, Raila Odinga remained a symbol of Kenya’s democratic struggle and a steadfast believer in good governance, national unity, and Pan-African progress.

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Major Achievements & Contributions

• Champion of Multiparty Democracy and Constitutional Reform.
• Key architect of the 2002 political transition that ended KANU’s four-decade rule.
• Central figure in the formulation and passage of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
• Promoter of national dialogue through the Handshake Initiative (2018) for unity and peace.
• Tireless advocate for infrastructure development and Pan-African integration.
• Established and supported multiple initiatives in education, youth empowerment, and economic reform.

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Honors & Recognition

• Honored locally and internationally for leadership in democracy, peace-building, and reform.
• Recipient of numerous peace and leadership awards from African and global institutions.
• Fondly remembered as “Baba”, a father figure who fought for a Kenya that belongs to all her people.

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Faith & Philosophy

Raila Odinga’s life was anchored in his deep faith in God, his love for humanity, and his conviction that freedom and justice are divine rights.
He believed that “Kenya belongs to all her children — regardless of tribe, region, or status.”

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Final Rest

He now rests among the heroes of our land — his legacy immortal, his dream undying.
May his memory continue to inspire generations to come.

Farewell, Baba. Your work lives on.

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