Days after the death of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, his late son Fidel Odinga’s ex-wife, Lwam Getachew Bekele, has made a fresh move that has drawn widespread public attention and reignited discussions about the Odinga family.
According to court filings published in a gazette notice dated Friday, October 17, Bekele has initiated a new legal process barely a week after the veteran opposition leader’s death. The notice, issued by the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA), lists Bekele among individuals associated with pending cases involving estates of deceased persons.
The timing of the move — coming right after the burial of Raila Odinga — has stirred mixed reactions among Kenyans. Many on social media questioned her sudden reemergence after years of silence, while others speculated that her legal filing could be related to the unresolved estate matters of her late husband, Fidel Odinga, who died in 2015 under mysterious circumstances.
Sources close to the Odinga family revealed that the legal process appears to concern financial or estate claims connected to Fidel’s name. The Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority’s involvement suggests the matter could be linked to dormant or undistributed assets belonging to the late Fidel, whose estate has been the subject of legal discussions in the past.
Fidel Odinga, the eldest son of Raila and Ida Odinga, married Lwam Bekele, an Ethiopian national, in 2012, but the couple reportedly separated two years later. His sudden death in 2015 left the Odinga family devastated, and many believed he was being groomed to follow in his father’s political footsteps.
The resurfacing of Bekele in legal documents just days after Raila’s passing has reignited public curiosity and debate about her relationship with the family. Some Kenyans have criticized the timing as insensitive, while others have defended her, saying she has every right to pursue legal matters concerning her late husband.
The Odinga family, still mourning the loss of their patriarch, has not publicly commented on the new development. However, analysts suggest the issue may once again draw public scrutiny to the Odinga family’s private affairs — just as the nation continues to celebrate and mourn the life of the man who shaped Kenya’s political history for decades.