Winnie Odinga has visited her late father Raila Odinga’s grave for the first time since his burial, sharing an emotional reflection on grief, healing and the unfinished process of coming to terms with his death.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, September 12, 2026, Winnie said it had taken her some time to finally make the journey to her father’s resting place, where she initially thought she was going to check on the ongoing construction at the site.
“Took me a while to get here,” Winnie wrote.
She revealed that it was her first time visiting the grave, explaining that her original intention had been to inspect the construction work being undertaken at the site.
“My first time visiting Dad’s grave. I thought I was coming to check on the construction,” she wrote.
However, the visit appeared to take on a much deeper personal meaning for Winnie, who reflected on how grief can leave people with their own unfinished emotional journeys even as physical structures continue to take shape around them.
“Turns out some things are still under construction in all of us,” she wrote.
Winnie then ended her message with a short but poignant reminder about continuing to move forward despite the pain of loss.
“Pole pole,” she wrote, before adding, “We keep building. We keep going❤️.”
Raila’s burial
Winnie’s visit comes nearly 11 months after Raila was laid to rest at his ancestral home in Bondo, Siaya County.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was buried on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at Kang’o ka Jaramogi, where he was laid to rest next to the mausoleum of his father, the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Since his burial, significant construction work has been taking place at the site as plans for a permanent memorial complex have progressed.
The government, working together with Raila’s family, has been involved in the construction of a state-of-the-art mausoleum intended to preserve the former Prime Minister’s legacy and create a lasting historical site around his final resting place.
The project has brought together several institutions, including the Kenya Defence Forces, the Ministry of Works, the National Museums of Kenya and the State Department for Culture, Arts, and Heritage.
The complex is being developed as a historical landmark and museum that will preserve Raila’s political legacy, document his decades-long contribution to Kenya’s democratic space and provide a repository for historical documents for future generations.
The construction is taking place next to the mausoleum of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, placing father and son within the same family compound in Bondo.
