EALA lawmaker Winnie Odinga says years spent close to her father shaped the choices she made — including putting her personal life on hold
Winnie Odinga has offered a rare glimpse into why marriage has not been a priority for her, saying she still believes in finding a lifelong partner but has yet to meet the person she wants to build that life with.
Speaking during an interview with Edmund Obilo on State Affairs, Odinga said she views marriage through what she described as a “fairy tale” lens — a relationship built around love, commitment and staying together for life.“I think I am married to my work. I believe in marriage more in the fairy tale style.”
Odinga, who was born in 1990, said she grew up in a generation exposed to stories of lifelong romance and still holds on to that ideal. She said she has simply not found the person who fits that picture.
“I just have not found that person,” she said, explaining that marriage is something she would want to approach with considerable time and effort rather than treat as an obligation.
A life closely tied to Raila
For much of her adult life, Odinga’s work and public identity were closely connected to her father, the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
She served as a close aide and confidante, accompanying him during political campaigns and at major public engagements. Reports have previously described her roles as ranging from personal assistant to campaign strategist.
Odinga said that closeness came at a personal cost.
“Because I had the privileged position to be his private secretary, his confidant and his daughter, essentially I had to take care of him at the expense of many things I may have wanted.”
She compared her father’s gravitational pull to Jupiter, saying that anyone who entered his orbit could easily be drawn in.
That relationship became even more significant after Raila’s death in October 2025. In January, Odinga spoke publicly about the difficulty of coping without a man who had been her father, mentor, party leader and closest friend.
Looking beyond work
Odinga is now carving out a public identity of her own. She is a member of the East African Legislative Assembly and founded The BrickHouse Counsel, a Nairobi-based strategic
communications consultancy, in 2017.
The firm says she has worked on five presidential campaigns across Africa.
In March 2026, ODM delegates in Nairobi also endorsed her for the party’s deputy leader position, signalling her growing prominence within the political movement her father led.
For now, however, Odinga says marriage is not something she intends to force.
Having spent years prioritising work and her father’s political life, she appears to be entering a different chapter — one in which she can give greater attention to the things she once postponed.
“So now I will look at those things.”
