RAILA JUNIOR TAKES MANTLE

Raila Odinga Junior was today, on Thursday traditionally installed as the new head of the Odinga family in a ceremony performed at their Bondo family home in Siaya County.

The vibrant ceremony, interspersed with Luo cultural rituals, song, and dance, took place a week after his father, the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, died and was buried on Sunday.

The installation was the ceremonial handing over of the family leadership to the late ODM leader's son, Senator Siaya and Raila's elder brother, Oburu Oginga.
"It is a ritual ceremony to bestow blessings on the new head of the family according to our culture," Dr. Oburu described the ceremony.

"The shaving will be done by one of Junior's grandmothers, and he will be given the tools of power and parade them."

Members of the family, relatives, and community elders attended the event. There were also traditional dancers and singers who entertained during the ceremony, while Raila Jr was being given a traditional Luo shield and wrapped in an animal skin cloak.
Luo cultural expectations demand that the eldest son assumes the family leadership position once his father passes away.

Raila Jr is Odinga's only surviving son after his older brother Fidel Castro Odinga passed away in 2015.