PROFILE : Fidel's death leaves a gap in Odinga's family

What you need to know:

Born in 1973, the late Fidel was married to an Eritrean woman Getachew Bekele, with whom they had one child.
Fidel was the eldest son in a family of four children Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winnie.
As soon as the news of his death broke out, messages of condolences poured in through social media sites.

The untimely demise of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s eldest son has left a huge gap that the Odingas will find it difficult to fill.

He was tipped to keep the political fire burning in the Odinga family in the event his father decided to hang up his boots.

His father who has been described as the enigma of Kenyan politics has been nurturing him into the difficult terrain of the country’s politics.

Born in 1973, the late Fidel was married to an Eritrean woman Getachew Bekele, with whom they had one child.

As soon as the news of his death broke out, messages of condolences poured in through social media sites. Facebook pages were created and gathered huge following a few hours after his death.

#RIPFidelOdinga quickly became the number one trending topic on Twitter a few minutes after Daily Nation online platform tweeted his death.

“FIDEL ODINGA, the eldest son of Cord leader Raila Odinga, found dead after a night out with friends. #RIPFidelOdinga,” Nation Breaking news tweeted.

Mombasa Senator tweeted: “My condolences to the family of the PM Raila Odinga upon the death of our brother Fidel.”

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale wrote: “My sincere condolences to the family, relatives and friends of Rt Hon Raila Odinga and mama Ida Odinga following the death of their son RIP.”

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu wrote: “As a parent I cannot imagine the pain. May God give the Odingas strength through this pain and loss. Rest in peace Fidel.”

The hashtag quickly become the number one topic in the country.

Eldest son

Fidel was the eldest son in a family of four children Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winnie.

However, Fidel’s life had its own share of controversy. In 2007, he married Veronica Wanjiru Ng’ang’a. Their marriage however collapsed later after the two divorced.

Fidel would then get baptised in his church in 2012 before deciding to tie the knot once more.

Fidel would then proceed with his life and marry his Eritrean girlfriend in an invite-only wedding ceremony which was held at Orthodox Church in Nairobi.

He loved going out with friends and in June last year, he pleaded guilty to charges of drunk-driving along Ngong road at the High Court and was fined Sh30,000.

In September last year his Range Rover car which was being driven by another person who was under the influence of alcohol hit and killed a cyclist in Nairobi.

It was expected that Fidel would vie for the Kibra parliamentary seat in the last General Election a speculation which he denied.

However, he was set to enter into active politics in 2017.