Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (c. 1911 – January 20, 1994) was a Luo Chief, a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence, Kenya's first vice-president and later opposition leader. Image File history File links Notyet. ... Image File history File links Notyet. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Joluo (commonly known as Luo) are an ethnic group in Kenya and Tanzania. ...

Early years and career

Oginga Odinga was born in Bondo, Nyanza Province. In his autobiography, Not Yet Uhuru, Odinga estimates the date of his birth to be October, 1911. Christened Obadiah Adonijah, he later renounced his Christian names and became known as Oginga Odinga. He was a student of Maseno and Alliance High School. He went to Makerere University in 1940, and returned to Maseno High School as a teacher. In 1948 he joined the political party, Kenya African Union (KAU). Bondo District is an administrative district in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. ... The capital of Kenyas Nyanza Province, on Lake Victoria, is Kisumu (click to enlarge map) Nyanza Province of Kenya, on Lake Victoria, is one of Kenyas seven administrative provinces outside Nairobi; it is in the southwest corner of Kenya. ... Obadiah (עֹבַדְיָה Servant of the LORD, Standard Hebrew ʿOvadya, Tiberian Hebrew ʿŌḇaḏyāh, Vulgate Abdias) is the name of many people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. ... Adonijah is a Hebrew name, meaning YHVH is my lord. A number of characters in the Bible bear this name. ... Makerere University is Ugandas largest university. ... Kenya African Union was a political organization that was meant to voice Kenyan voice to Britain, the colonial government of the time. ...

Spurred to empower his Kenyan Luo ethnic group, Odinga started the Luo Thrift and Trading Corporation (registered in 1947). With time, Odinga and his group undertook to strengthen the union between Luo people in the entire East African region. His efforts earned him admiration and recognition among the Luo, who revered him as Ker (spiritual leader) – a position previously held by the fabled ancestral Luo chief, Ramogi Ajwang, who reigned 400 years before him. Vowing to uphold the ideals of Ramogi Ajwang, Odinga became known as Jaramogi (meaning son of Ramogi). Joluo (commonly known as Luo) are an ethnic group in Kenya and Tanzania. ... The Lwo (also Lwoo or Luo) are a family of linguistically-related ethnic groups (tribes) which live in an area that stretches from the south of Sudan, through Northern Uganda and Eastern Congo (DRC), into Western Kenya, and ending in the upper tip of Tanzania. ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ...

Vice presidency

According to Luo tradition, a Ker could not be a politician, so Odinga relinquished his position as Ker in 1957 and became become the political spokesman of the Luo. The same year he was elected member of the Legislative Council for the Central Nyanza constituency, and in 1948 he joined the Kenya African Union (KAU). In 1960, together with Tom Mboya he formed Kenya African National Union (KANU). When Kenya became an independent Republic in 1964, he was its first Vice-President. Tom Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (August 15, 1930 - July 5, 1969) was a Kenyan politician during Jomo Kenyattas government. ... The Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU, ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002. ... The Vice-President of Kenya is the second-highest executive official in the Kenyan government]]. List of Vice-Presidents of Kenya Jaramogi Oginga Odinga (1963-May 1966) Joseph Zuzarte Murumbi (May 1966-1967) Daniel arap Moi (1967-22 August 1978) Mwai Kibaki (14 October 1978-1988) Josephat Njuguna Karanja (1988...

As Vice-President he did not agree with Jomo Kenyatta's government, He resigned his post and quit KANU in 1966 to form the Kenya People's Union (KPU). Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (October 20, 1889 – August 22, 1978) served as the first Prime Minister (1963–1964) and President (1964–1978) of Kenya. ...

In opposition

The friction between Odinga and Kenyatta continued, and in 1969 Odinga was arrested after the two verbally abused each other publicly at a chaotic function in Kisumu – and where at least 11 people were killed and dozens were injured in riots. He was detained for two years, and was consigned to political limbo until after Kenyatta's death in August 1978. Kisumu ( ) is a port city in western Kenya at 1131m, with a population of 322,024 (1999 census). ...

Kenyatta's successor, Daniel arap Moi, appointed Odinga as chairman of the Cotton Lint and Seed Marketing Board. He didn't last long in the post, presumably because he was still outspoken against Kenyatta's policies. Odinga attempted to register a political party in 1982, but when Attorney-General Charles Njonjo amended the constitution (which made Kenya a de jure single-party state), his plans were foiled. Daniel Toroitich arap Moi (born September 2, 1924) was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002. ... Charles Mugane Njonjo (born 1920) is a former Kenyan Attorney General (1963 – 1979), and Minister for Constitutional Affairs (1980 – 1983). ... Look up De jure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Following the failed coup of 1982 against Moi's government, Odinga was placed under house arrest in Kisumu. In 1990, he tried in vain with others to register an opposition party, the National Democratic Party. In 1991 he co-founded and became the interim chairman of Forum for the Restoration of Democracy(FORD). The formation of FORD triggered a chain of events that were to change Kenya's political landscape, culminating in ending KANU's 40 years in power – eight years after Oginga Odinga's death. The 1982 Kenyan coup was a failed attempt to overthrow President Daniel arap Mois government. ... Ford-Kenya (Forum for the Restoration of Democracy Kenya) is a Kenyan political party currently part of the ruling NARC coalition in Kenya. ...

Oginga Odinga's son Raila Odinga is now one of the leading political figures in Kenya while another son Oburu Odinga is an MP. Raila Odinga Raila Amollo Odinga (born 1945) is a Kenyan Member of Parliament, and was, until November 23, 2005 a Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Roads, Public Works and Housing. ...

References

• East Africa Living Encyclopedia, African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania

External links

• Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation