{"id":128922,"date":"2026-01-18T18:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T18:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/raila-is-irreplaceable-winnie-odinga-enters-odm-power-war\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T18:03:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T18:03:01","slug":"raila-is-irreplaceable-winnie-odinga-enters-odm-power-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/raila-is-irreplaceable-winnie-odinga-enters-odm-power-war\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Raila is irreplaceable\u2019: Winnie Odinga enters ODM power war"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 18 \u2014 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Winnie said.<\/p>\n

Her remarks come against the backdrop of growing tension within ODM over the party\u2019s future direction, its cooperation with President William Ruto\u2019s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), and the leadership of negotiations for a 2027 political arrangement.<\/p>\n

Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, who took over the reins of party leadership following Raila\u2019s death in October, has publicly declared that ODM will pursue a stronger, more equitable power-sharing deal ahead of 2027.<\/p>\n

\u2018Side shows\u2019<\/h2>\n

The senator, who is Raila\u2019s elder brother, has said the party will engage in future alliances from a position of strength and \u201center government through the front door\u201d rather than through informal arrangements.<\/p>\n

While Oburu has dismissed internal disputes as \u201cside shows\u201d 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\u2019s direction and leadership.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody 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?\u201d she posed.<\/p>\n

She insisted that ODM was not owned by a few individuals but by its supporters across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis party belongs to the people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThreats do not move me. You cannot scare me,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

NDC showdown <\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I have heard here, our party has a lot going on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Winnie also accused some figures within ODM of having never truly believed in Raila Odinga\u2019s political cause, saying they only associated with him for convenience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who never believed in Baba; they were just using him. There are people who have never been there during ODM struggles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a family, we are not in either faction. We are team Baba,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to the party\u2019s planned National Delegates Convention (NDC), which is expected to be pivotal in setting ODM\u2019s 2027 strategy and leadership direction, Winnie warned that the meeting would be contentious.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to go to the NDC, and there, things will be hot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also dismissed claims by some party figures that they were acting on Raila Odinga\u2019s instructions, saying such assertions were misleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who are saying Baba said this or that are not well mannered,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

ODM\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

With rival camps jostling for influence and control of the party machinery, Winnie\u2019s intervention is likely to add momentum to the internal reckoning over who speaks for ODM \u2014 and what the party should stand for \u2014 as the 2027 contest draws closer.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 18 \u2014 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128922\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}