NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 6 — ODM party leader Oburu Odinga has defended the Odinga family’s decision to bury his younger sister, Beryl Odinga, at their Kang’o Ka Jaramogi home in Bondo, a move that has elicited mixed reactions within the Luo community.Oburu maintained that the decision honours both evolving cultural realities and the wishes of their late patriarch, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.Addressing mourners in Bondo, Oburu acknowledged the debate within the community, where burial customs typically dictate that an unmarried woman be laid to rest outside the main homestead. He stressed that the family was acting within cultural bounds while adapting to contemporary realities.“We know our traditions, and we respect them,” he said. “Our sister will be buried with her head facing the gate, as Luo culture requires. We are keeping every rite except one.”Practicality The single departure from tradition, he explained, is the burial site. Beryl will be interred in the Odinga family cemetery—an area Jaramogi personally designated as the final resting place for all members of his household, regardless of marital status.Oburu emphasised that the decision reflects both practicality and fidelity to his father’s guidance.“The world has changed, and land is no longer what it used to be. Our father showed us where every member of the family should be buried. We are simply following that guidance,” he said.He appealed to Luo elders and cultural custodians to view the family’s choice with understanding rather than judgment.“If this appears to go against what has been done traditionally, we ask for your understanding. Times have changed, and we must balance tradition with present-day realities,” Oburu added.The announcement drews varied reactions within the community with some cultural purists arguing that bypassing traditional burial locations risks weakening long-held customs.Beryl Odinga, the younger sister of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, passed away on November 25 while undergoing treatment in Nairobi. Her burial was scheduled for Saturday, December 6, at the Odinga family cemetery in Kang’o Ka Jaramogi, beside the grave of their late mother, Mama Mary Juma Odinga.