- Winnie Odinga stirred debate at ODM’s 20th anniversary by questioning Oburu Oginga’s ability to lead the party and manage its ties with the Kenya Kwanza government
- In response, Oburu defended his legacy alongside Raila Odinga, asserting his readiness to carry forward the party’s vision with equal resolve
- Despite the tension, he pledged to lead ODM with courage and called on members to rally behind him
Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
ODM leader Oburu Oginga appeared displeased with remarks made by his niece, Winnie Odinga, who seemed to cast doubt on his ability to lead the party.
Source: Facebook
While speaking at the ODM@20 celebrations in Mombasa, Winnie, an EALA MP, asserted that her late father, Raila Odinga, was the one with the acumen to lead ODM and steady it within the broad-based arrangement with President William Ruto’s UDA.
What Winnie Odinga wants in ODM
According to her, no such leader exists today, and the party ought to call a National Delegates Conference (NDC) in which new leadership would be ratified by the members.
Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner 😉
“When it came to the matter of the broad-based government, the people of ODM trusted one person with the management of that relationship, and that person was Raila Amolo Odinga. That relationship is complicated. And therefore we are looking, and we are wondering, those who are taking it upon themselves to manage it now, are they capable of managing that relationship?
It is not a question for me to answer but for the people of ODM. Party leader, that is why I am requesting that we need to go back to the people and have an NDC and see who the people want to pick to manage that same relationship,” she said.
In a quick rebuttal, Oburu responded to Winnie, suggesting he was capable of picking up the baton from where Raila left.
Source: Facebook
How Oburu Oginga reacted to Winnie Odinga’s talk
He explained that he was always present in Raila’s political undertakings and understood his moves.
“I lived with Raila for 80 years. In all that he did and where he went, I was always there. And there is no single day I betrayed my brother,” he said.
Oburu noted that even with Raila’s prominence in local politics, he (Oburu) was his elder brother, qualified to counsel him where there was a need.
And despite their age difference, he said, he accorded the deceased the respect he deserved in the political arena.
Seemingly disturbed by Winnie’s perspective, Oburu revealed he would be having a private moment with her to discuss her concerns.
All the same, he vowed to undertake the leadership of ODM with the same pragmatism and vigour as Raila did in his lifetime.
“I heard my child Winnie saying that Raila was in the broad-based government and that we should look for a new leader to steer the party in the broad-based arrangement. I tell her that we will talk with her at home. Meanwhile, I will work like Raila in this new post that you have given me. I have taken the reins of power, and I won’t fear anything, and I will purpose to achieve all that Raila envisioned,” he said.
Oburu called on the ODM membership to back him up as he steers the ship.
Meanwhile, the jamboree exposed the widening rift in the ODM as factions hold onto their respective stances.
Will ODM work with William Ruto?
Each speaker was radical in their own perspectives, leaving the ordinary in the grassroots confused.
The team that is pulling toward Ruto held onto that, insisting that that is where Raila left them, and that had he been alive, he would have maintained the same.
On the other hand, the other faction declared that the partnership with Ruto will be pegged on the 10-point agenda he signed with their leader, ruling out any possibility of rallying behind the president’s re-election bid.
In an attempt to sanction order in ODM, Oburu stated that the party would remain fixated on the partnership with Ruto’s government until 2027, when it will decide whether to coalesce or go its separate way.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
