Raila Junior: This is what caused the right side of my face to get paralysed

Kibet Collins April 13, 2022

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Raila Junior, the son of ODM leader Raila Odinga has spoken out about about a medical condition that left his face deformed.

Junior revealed that he had a noncancerous brain tumor that he developed when he was young during a recent interview with Radio Jambo.

“It’s a non-cancerous tumor that was in my brain and this affected my nerve system since I was young way back in 1985. It has always been with me in my lifetime,” Raila Junior said.

The condition is known as Acoustic Neuroma or Vestibular Schwannoma.

In another interview with the Standard Digital, Junior explained:

“Usually I don’t talk about it much but I have what is called Acoustic neuroma. This is a non-cancerous growth that is at the back of my brain.

And what happens is, for example, every human has five ventricles and each ventricle come streaming from the back of every human being and my Acoustic neuroma presses against my third ventricle which controls the nerves of the right side of my face so this is what caused the right side of my face to get paralyzed.

So it’s not what people always assume is Bell’s palsy it’s not really Bell’s Palsy which is a different form of temporary paralysis its Acoustic neuroma.”

Struggling to get a baby

During the interview with Massawe Japanni, Junior also spoke about struggling to get a child with his wife, Yvonne Wambui.

He says they got a lot of pressure from family and friends due to their inability to get a child. However, after about five years, the two were finally blessed with a baby boy.

“I hope she (Yvonne) will allow me to disclose this. We had been married for a long time and we weren’t able to get a child in the very first years.”

“We struggled for a very long time for about four, five years and eventually God blessed us with our firstborn a son,” he narrates.

“I think it’s a genetic condition from my mum’s side and it doesn’t affect everyone in the family. It affects 1 in 5 family members,” He added.

Getting his firstborn

Raila Junior and his better half Yvonne Wambui was finally blessed with a newborn baby in August 25, 2021.

She gave my mum @IdaOdinga the best birthday present in the world @yvejr1 thank you God bless you. ❤️ you so much ! pic.twitter.com/lpFb29pdic

— Raila Odinga Junior (@Railajunior) August 24, 2021