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The late Fidel Odinga

NAIROBI. — Fidel Odinga, the eldest son of Cord leader Raila Odinga, was yesterday morning found dead in his house at Windy Ridge, Karen after a night out with friends.The lifeless body of Raila’s son was found in his bed early yesterday. Police said it was not yet clear what caused the death.

Born in 1973, the late Fidel was married to an Eritrean woman Getachew Bekele, with whom he had one child.

Fidel was the eldest son in a family of four children Rosemary, Raila Junior and Winnie.

As soon as the news of his death broke out, messages of condolences poured in through social media sites. Facebook pages were created and gathered a huge following a few hours after his death.

#RIPFidelOdinga quickly became the number one trending topic on Twitter a few minutes after Daily Nation online platform tweeted his death.

“FIDEL ODINGA, the eldest son of Cord leader Raila Odinga, found dead after a night out with friends. #RIPFidelOdinga,” Nation Breaking news tweeted.

Mombasa Senator tweeted: “My condolences to the family of the PM Raila Odinga upon the death of our brother Fidel.”

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale wrote: “My sincere condolences to the family, relatives and friends of Rt Hon Raila Odinga and mama Ida Odinga following the death of their son RIP.”

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu wrote: “As a parent I cannot imagine the pain. May God give the Odingas strength through this pain and loss. Rest in peace Fidel.”

It was expected that Fidel would vie for the Kibra parliamentary seat in the last General Elections a speculation which he denied.

However, he was set to enter into active politics in 2017.

Meanwhile, rowdy youths took to the streets in Nairobi to protest the death of Fidel Odinga yesterday afternoon. The youths mainly from the populous Kibera back yard, a strong political base of Raila which he represented in parliament demonstrated demanding to know the cause of his death. They pelted motorists with stones and blocked the roads before swift action from police who moved in to disperse them.

Police advised motorists and shoppers to watch out for their safety and avoid the volatile disturbance-prone areas surrounding the populous Kibera slums saying there were hooligans who want to take advantage of the tragedy to cause havoc.

The youths later marched to the home of Fidel in Karen disrupted members of the public, family and friends who had visited the home to condole with the family. Police had a difficult time trying to keep the rowdy youths at bay as they demanded to view the body of the fallen politician-cum businessman. — Daily Nation/Standard Digital.