The death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga may have opened a new chapter of uncertainty as the family grapples with how the estate of their patriarch, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, will ultimately be shared.
The estate includes Jaramogi’s majority stake in the family’s gas cylinder business.
The politically influential Odinga family – through siblings Raila and Oburu Oginga – has for decades jointly managed and shared Jaramogi’s estate, which spans several businesses, among them the gas cylinder company East Africa Spectre.
But with the death of Raila, arguably the most politically dominant figure in the family, questions are emerging over whether this long-standing arrangement – built on shared stewardship of a common inheritance – can endure.
In an interview, Oburu divulged plans to settle the issue of succession, fearing that the next generation of the Odingas might not necessarily enjoy the same cohesion as the current one.
Just before the former Prime Minister died, Oburu recalled calling his brother, where they discussed settling the estate of the Odinga family by ensuring that each member received what was due and leaving no loose ends that could fuel conflict.
‘I was telling him that there are a few things which are outstanding in the family, including the estate, which we had managed with him,’ Oburu, the Siaya Sentor, recalled.
He talked of having reminded his brother while the latter was in a hospital in India that ‘life of a human being is temporary’.
‘If anything happens to you or me, or to both of us, and we all go, these young people – I don’t see them gelling as much as we gel with you,’ Oburu said.
This placed East Africa Spectre, the family’s Mombasa Road-based gas cylinder business that the former Prime Minister started with his father in 1971, in the spotlight.
The estate of Jaramogi, Kenya’s first Vice-President, owns a majority stake – 52.5 percent or 262,500 shares – in East Africa Spectre.
The former Prime Minister owns 90,000 shares or an 18 percent stake. His brother, Oburu, owns 60,000 shares or 12 percent.
Raila’s spouse, Ida Odinga, owns 50,000 shares or a 10 percent stake.
Israel Otieno Agina, the man who spent two years in detention for alleged sedition against former President Daniel arap Moi, owns 30,000 shares or six percent.
The family of the late Argwings Kodhek, the first black lawyer in East Africa, owns 5,000 shares, while the family of former National Oil Corporation of Kenya director Ngesa Okolo holds 2,500 shares.
Raila, his wife Ida, and brother Oburu all have offices at the East Africa Spectre plant.
Shortly after Kenya attained independence, with Jaramogi serving as Vice-President under President Jomo Kenyatta, the two fell out, triggering one of the fiercest political duels in the country’s history – a rift that would see Jaramogi’s financial fortunes wane.
Jaramogi walked out of the government in 1966.
He favoured closer ties with the Soviet Union and China, while Jomo Kenyatta preferred an alliance with the US and other Western powers.
Earlier in his life, Jaramogi also acquired land in North Sakwa (around 140 acres) in the early 1970s – a large rural holding that formed part of the family’s property portfolio. Portions of this land were passed on to family members, including younger sons and daughters who received shares of the estate upon his death.
The Odinga family also faced dramatic financial challenges in the late 1970s, when properties in Kisumu – including buildings, vehicles and other assets – were put up for auction by Macho and Kimaru Auctioneers to recover unpaid loans, nearly driving the family toward bankruptcy. These assets were subsequently redeemed or managed to protect the family estate.
Beyond these holdings, other properties tied to Jaramogi’s legacy – such as ancestral land in Bondo, Siaya County – remain in family hands and are linked to ongoing developments, cultural heritage sites and family residences.
Notable among these is the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Mausoleum in Bondo, maintained as a public heritage site commemorating his role in Kenya’s independence.
But it is in East Africa Spectre that Jaramogi’s business legacy is most visible. The unlisted company – its valuation not public – has been expanded and managed by his children, including the family of Raila and Oburu.
Just 5.2 kilometres from the Mombasa Road plant lie the memories of another firm the Odinga family set up, but for which fate had a different ending scripted.
Spectre International ceased operations in 2017, leaving behind a trail of debt to multiple creditors, including staff who negotiated a Sh44 million pay deal after suing in the same year.
Spectre International was incorporated in 1989, and six years later bid Sh570 million for the assets of the Kenya Chemical and Food Corporation (KCFC).
Former President Jomo Kenyatta had created the KCFC in 1977 to produce power alcohol.
In 2000, Raila and President Daniel Arap Moi entered a political pact, which saw the former appointed Energy minister a year later.
Around the same time, KCB’s receiver manager reached an agreement to sell the 240-acre land hosting the molasses plant to Spectre International for Sh3.6 million.
The absence of clear succession plans is often at the heart of conflicts among leading families when their patriarchs die, a fate that the Odinga family is keen to avoid.
Studies consistently show that most families do not have succession plans, and even where they do, the next generation is rarely fully prepared.
Raila, Jaramogi’s second-born son who studied engineering in Germany, carved out a distinct niche in deal-making, helping to grow Spectra while also venturing into other business interests.
Around the time Raila struck a truce with President William Ruto amid anti-tax protests, the Odinga family quietly opened a larger branch of East Africa Spectre near the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), underscoring the parallel track on which his businesses run.
Be Energy, a petroleum dealer, is the other business owned by the late Raila’s family.
In 2020, Be Energy controlled 2.4 percent of the market share. By 2022, the firm was controlling 3.1 percent of the oil market. In the 2024/25 financial year, that control grew to 3.52 per cent after selling 205,369 cubic metres of petroleum products.
Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) disclosures indicate that it is currently the fifth-biggest oil marketer in Kenya, only behind the big four multinationals – Vivo Energy (Shell), Rubis Energy, TotalEnergies and Ola Energy.
Be Energy exports petrol, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and oil lubricants to South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Raila and his family own 2,801 shares in Be Energy Limited through Pan African Petroleum Company Ltd.
The family of Saudi Arabian tycoon Sheikh Abdul Kader Al Bakri is the majority owner, with 5,201 shares held through their International Energy World S.A.
Pan African Petroleum Company is owned by Raila Odinga Junior (25,000 shares), Rosemary Adhiambo Odinga (50,000 shares), Winnie Irmgard Odinga (25,000 shares), Elija Bonyo Oburu (125,000 shares), Wenwa Akinyi Oranga (25,000 shares) and Kango Enterprises (250,000 shares).
Kango Enterprises is wholly owned by Raila and his wife, Ida. They each have 100 shares in Kango Enterprises.
The former Prime Minister’s son, named after him, runs Be Energy’s Kenyan operations.