Ida Odinga, the wife of ODM leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga, is among the most powerful and strong women in the country.
Ida has been very instrumental in Raila’s life. She stuck with Raila through thick and thin and at a point even raised their children on her own at the time when Raila was imprisoned for opposing president Moi’s government.
Raila describes her as a strong pillar in his challenging political journey. Here are some of the interesting facts about Ida:
She was born as Ida Anyango Oyoo on August 24, 1950. That means that she will be turning 72 years old this year.
Ida was born in a family of six. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother was a nurse. Her father however passed on while she was only 7 years old and was raised by her mother.
The mother of four(one is deceased) met the love of her life while pursuing her education degree in Nairobi University. That was in the early 1970s. At the time, Raila was an employee of the institution, an engineer by profession.
Ida got married before completing her college degree. Ida and Raila got married on September 1, 1973. She completed her Bachelors in 1974, when she was 24 years old.
She worked as a teacher for over 20 years after pursuing a Bachelors of Education Arts Degree at the University of Nairobi. She however lost her job after she was expelled by the government because her husband was opposing the government.
Ida is among the first women to hold a major leadership role in a company in the country after becoming the managing director of the East African Spectre, a liquefied gas company in 2003.
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