27/11/2025
A HEARTFELT TRIBUTE TO BERYL ACHIENG ODINGA — A WOMAN WHO WALKED THROUGH FIRE AND STILL SHONE
Today, we mourn… but we also remember.
We remember a woman who carried storms on her back, who crossed borders with tears in her eyes, and who rebuilt her life with hands that trembled but never gave up.
Beryl Achieng Odinga was born into a family of giants
daughter of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga,
sister to Raila Odinga
yet somehow, she became a giant in her own right.
She could have lived quietly in the glow of a famous name.
But destiny had other plans for her.
Her life was not a straight road it was a battlefield.
And through the accounts told by those who knew her, those who watched her struggle, and those who admired her from afar, one truth always rises above the rest:
Beryl fought. And Beryl survived.
When love turned into pain… she fought.
When home turned into danger… she fled.
When the world closed its doors… she carved her own.
When she was forced into exile with nothing but hope —
she rose again.
In Zimbabwe, far from the land of her ancestors, Beryl created a new name for herself.
A name built not on politics, but on courage.
A name built not on privilege, but on perseverance.
She became the first Black Town Clerk of Mutare.
She led. She served. She inspired.
Her journey was a testament to the unbreakable spirit of a woman who refused to be defined by tragedy a woman who transformed wounds into wisdom, and exile into triumph.
When she finally returned home to Kenya, decades later, she returned not as a victim —
but as a warrior who had earned her place in history.
In November 2025, surrounded by love and prayer, Beryl Achieng Odinga took her final bow in London…
and the world lost a remarkable daughter of Africa.
But her spirit?
Her story?
Her legacy?
It will not die.
It will be whispered in Luo homes, told in Kenyan classrooms, remembered in Zimbabwean offices, and carried in the hearts of every woman who has ever survived the unimaginable.
As the Luo say:
“Nyako odhi gi nying” — A woman departs with her name.
Beryl leaves with a name that will never be forgotten.
A name that crossed oceans.
A name that endured storms.
A name that stood tall, even when life tried to break it.
Rest well, Beryl.
You earned your peace.
💐🕊️❤️
