-Beryl Odinga died on November 25 at the age of 79 years.
In Flame of Freedom, Raila Odinga writes 37 chapters. Only one carries a family member’s name. Not Jaramogi. And neither Oburu nor Raila himself.
But Beryl Odinga; his soft-spoken sister who walked into a marriage that would become the darkest chapter of her life.
Raila says he hesitated to write about her. But he chose to.
Because, he writes, her story showed him “how a man can misuse his power to hurt a woman.”
And because Beryl’s life held lessons Kenya and Africa seldom confront.
A calculated pursuit
Beryl Odinga was barely out of school in 1972. Fresh-faced. Hopeful.
Ready for life after her Sixth Form exams.
Then came Otieno Ambala, a charming Kisumu professional with political ambitions sharper than his smile.
Raila, Oburu, and even their father sensed something was off. But Beryl was in love.
And Ambala was relentless, pursuing her at her father’s workplace, visiting her in Kisumu, and weaving himself into her days with a confidence that unsettled the family.
Raila describes it bluntly: Ambala “skilfully plotted around my sister”, pretending affection while quietly using her as a bridge to reach Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
The marriage came quickly. And trouble followed just as fast.
The late Beryl Odinga. Photo/courtesy
Jaramogi’s blessing
Ambala wanted political ascendancy. He wanted Jaramogi’s blessing. He wanted Gem Constituency.
And he wanted the Odingas’ machinery behind him.
The Odinga family was uneasy. Jaramogi openly disapproved of Ambala’s methods.
But Beryl begged her family to support her husband’s bid for Parliament. They reluctantly agreed.
Ambala won in 1979.
A landslide victory; however, Raila notes that “victory went to his head.”
The marriage, already turbulent, grew worse.
By the early 1980s, Beryl could not breathe. She fled the marriage.
Ambala chased her everywhere: at home, on the road, and even at her workplace.
Her life felt cornered, Raila writes, and the family believed she needed a fresh start.
A window of peace in Zimbabwe
In 1980, Beryl left Kenya for the newly independent Zimbabwe. She hoped for peace. She hoped for a second life. And for a moment, she found it.
Beryl Odinga worked. She rebuilt herself. She raised her two daughters, Auma and Chizzy.
But the peace did not last.
Ambala sued for custody. A Zimbabwean court awarded him the children.
The loss crushed Beryl. She returned to Kenya devastated, only for Ambala to seize her passport using Kenyan law.
Raila stepped in, arranging an alternative travel document from Uganda so she could return to Zimbabwe and reclaim her dignity.
Political rivalry turns dark
In 1983, Ambala lost the Gem Seat to Horace Ongili in a humiliating defeat.
Weeks later, Ongili’s mutilated body was discovered in a maize plantation.
Ambala became the chief suspect.
READ ALSO: Beryl Achieng: Raila Odinga’s Youngest Sister is Dead
He was charged, remanded… and later died of a heart attack in Kodiaga prison. Beryl was reunited with her daughters.
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