“The Body Was Carried Around Like a Sack” Winnie Odinga Opens Up On Depression After Fidel’s death

ODM leader Raila Odinga’s lastborn daughter Winnie Odinga has narrated how her life changed following the death of her eleder brother Fidel.

The 32-year-old opened up about the pain and grief she witnessed.

She disclosed that she did not cry after his passing in 2015.

However, reality hit her hard during the burial, attended by thousands of mourners.

“When Fidel died I did not shed a tear. However, I started crying when they were burying him,” she said.
Winnie added that the period after the mourners left was hard for her, and she fell into depression.

“During funeral there was so much going on. But when the body is lowered into the ground and you are there with your family that is when the depression hits. I went through a terrible phase,” she added.
According to Winnie, her sister-in-law took her to a counsellor to deal with depression.

“Talking about it helped and I currently have three therapists.”

Looking back at Fidel’s funeral, Winnie admitted that things got wild at some point.

“It was wild. The body was being carried around like a sack as people wailed.”
“I gave him a little something to go with.”

The 32-year-old noted that the grief process is different for everybody but advised those in mourning not to pretend they are not hurting.

“The most important thing is don’t act like you are not grieving. The only way out is going through it.”

However, Winnie, named after Nelson Mandela’s wife, noted that she had not gotten over losing Fidel.

“You don’t get over it. It is something you learn to live with. Some days you could be doing great and all of a sudden you just start crying. There are certain hard times, like when people are playing with me. I usually say they would be done for if my brother were around,” she said.