NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 18 — EALA MP Winnie Odinga has declared that the late ODM leader Raila Odinga is irreplaceable, accusing some party officials of scrambling for control and attempting to push others out of the party.
The first-time EALA lawmaker spoke in Kibra, Nairobi, on Sunday as internal divisions deepen amid high-stakes realignments ahead of the 2027 General Election.
She warned that ODM risked losing its identity if it allowed internal power struggles and factional battles to overshadow the values and sacrifices that built the party.
“We were passengers and Baba was the driver, and then one day Baba was no more. Out of nowhere, those who were near him rushed to the steering wheel, and they are all pulling it in every direction. And they are pushing us like luggage,” Winnie said.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of growing tension within ODM over the party’s future direction, its cooperation with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), and the leadership of negotiations for a 2027 political arrangement.
Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, who took over the reins of party leadership following Raila’s death in October, has publicly declared that ODM will pursue a stronger, more equitable power-sharing deal ahead of 2027.
‘Side shows’
The senator, who is Raila’s elder brother, has said the party will engage in future alliances from a position of strength and “enter government through the front door” rather than through informal arrangements.
While Oburu has dismissed internal disputes as “side shows” and said he has the grassroots mandate to steer the party, signs of strain have persisted, particularly in Western Kenya and parts of Nairobi, where rival camps are increasingly vocal about the party’s direction and leadership.
In an apparent reference to the ongoing wrangles, Winnie said some party officials were seeking to silence dissent and push out members who raise uncomfortable questions.
“Nobody will be removed from ODM. There is no day that former Prime Minister Raila Odinga told anyone to go away from the party. They say that we are questioning too many things in the party, and when we do so, they say we should leave the party. If we leave, who will they remain with?” she posed.
She insisted that ODM was not owned by a few individuals but by its supporters across the country.
“This party belongs to the people,” she said.
In a fiery speech that drew cheers from the crowd, Winnie said she would not be intimidated into silence, saying she had come to openly challenge what she described as wrong trends inside the party.
“As the last born, when you see things go wrong, lazima uchome (you have to spill the beans). I have come kuchoma (to spill the beans),” she said.
“Threats do not move me. You cannot scare me,” she added.
NDC showdown
The outspoken daughter of the late former Prime Minister said she had learned that disquiet within the party was widespread and could not be wished away.
“From what I have heard here, our party has a lot going on,” she said.
Winnie also accused some figures within ODM of having never truly believed in Raila Odinga’s political cause, saying they only associated with him for convenience.
“There are people who never believed in Baba; they were just using him. There are people who have never been there during ODM struggles,” she said.
Distancing the Odinga family outside the emerging internal camps, Winnie, who was accompanied by her younger brother Raila Junior, said they were not aligned to any faction.
“As a family, we are not in either faction. We are team Baba,” she said.
Looking ahead to the party’s planned National Delegates Convention (NDC), which is expected to be pivotal in setting ODM’s 2027 strategy and leadership direction, Winnie warned that the meeting would be contentious.
“We want to go to the NDC, and there, things will be hot,” she said.
She also dismissed claims by some party figures that they were acting on Raila Odinga’s instructions, saying such assertions were misleading.
“Those who are saying Baba said this or that are not well mannered,” she said.
ODM’s internal debate is unfolding at a time when the party is simultaneously intensifying grassroots mobilization to boost its bargaining power in anticipated coalition talks with UDA.
With rival camps jostling for influence and control of the party machinery, Winnie’s intervention is likely to add momentum to the internal reckoning over who speaks for ODM — and what the party should stand for — as the 2027 contest draws closer.