By Anderson Ojwang
From the disheartening pain of the loss of the late Raila Amolo Odinga to a disappointing and embarrassing situation, the Orange Democratic Movement finds itself.
After betrayal while airborne from India where he died, to turning his precious treasure, the ODM, into a laughing stock.
In six months, the legacy, the struggles, pain and sacrifices of Raila have been thrown into the waste bin, and five decades of painful sweat, detention and suffering have been turned to laughter and disdain.
Six months ago, ODM bragged as the largest party in Africa, South of the River Limpopo, to Vanga and to Wuoth Ogik in Nyatike, to Turkana. From Turkana to Loitoktok, the movement was ODM.
The ODM fraternity would cap and ice it with the song of “Bado Mapambano” of the late Homa Bay senator Gerald Otieno Kajwang.
And now, the movement is in the intensive care unit, fighting for survival and receiving a dose to resuscitate it from eventual demise.
“Tunataka Pawa” to “Tunataka Respect”
The proposed pre-election coalition arrangement between ODM and UDA was fronted on the philosophy of delivering power and equal power sharing between UDA and ODM.
In a bid to sell the broad-based agenda, the Linda Ground of the party leader Dr Oburu Oginga came up with a political hype: “Hatuwezi kwa bila pawa, tunataka pawa. Broadbased ndio pawa. Weka mawe (We cannot stay without power. We want power. Broad based is power.)”
And on Thursday, a whining and deflated “pawa” crusaders came out from the Central Management Committee, humbled and disoriented from the emerging signs in the political union with UDA.
In the statement, they observed: “On our relationship with our broad-based partners, the UDA party, the CMC noted with concern the goings-on and the unwarranted public utterances by some senior officials aimed at causing anxiety and disquiet among our members. As a party that believes in its principles, ideology and the foundation on which it was founded, we demand respect from the UDA party.”
Junet warned their partners in the broad-based alliance against infiltration of their strongholds and threatened to walk out.
“I want to tell our UDA partners that we want power. If we can’t get it here, we will look elsewhere,” he said.
“Baba alituwacha kwa broad based”
For the last two weeks, a deafening silence over the once popular phrase “Baba alituwacha kwa broad based (Baba left us in broad based government)” is a worrying concern.
Dr Oburu, ODM National Chairperson Gladys Wanga, and ODM Director of Elections Junet Mohammed, the choirmaster, have since taken leave.
On several occasions, Oburu has said: “We are in a broad-based arrangement where Raila left us. We are not going to leave it soon. By 2027, we must be in power as a party.”
Wanga at the burial of Raila said the former Prime Minister’s final wish was for his party to remain in the broad-based government alongside President Ruto.
“The last instructions he left us with, and with a very clear mind, was that he made a conscious decision to join the broad-based government,” said Wanga.
But the Deputy Secretary General and the acting Secretary General of the Linda Ground faction, Catherine Omanyo, recently said the party was not supporting one term or two terms.
“There is no two-term or one-term. If we remember, Baba, the last lunch we had with him before he flew out for treatment and never came back alive, he advised us that although we are supporting the government, we are not in either one-term or two-term yet until after negotiations. He said we will support the government up to 2027 and then see the way forward. What do we do after 2027? So either way, Linda Mwananchi or Linda Ground, if anyone says one-term or two-term, they are wrong,” she said.
Linda Ground aping Linda Mwananchi over youth block
The Linda Ground rallies seem to have died a natural death, and to remain relevant, the faction has embarked on youth engagement. This is aimed at rivaling Linda Mwananchi, which is enjoying overwhelming youth support.
Oburu wrote on his social media handles: “To ensure we maintain this momentum, we have resolved to launch a nationwide drive aimed at popularizing the party and strengthening our roots in every corner of the country. For those few areas where grassroots elections are still pending, I urge our members to utilize our internal dispute mechanisms to finalize the process swiftly so we can move forward as a united front. Our commitment to the next generation is equally a priority. We are heading directly to the grassroots to engage our young leaders through a series of youth conventions. I am looking forward to being in Nairobi on Monday, April 20th, and Mombasa on Sunday, April 26th. These engagements will culminate in a joint NEC, Parliamentary Group, and Governors retreat scheduled from May 1st to 3rd.”
The devil in the house
The infiltration of ODM by UDA in its strongholds can be termed as the devil in the house. The debate on zoning is becoming a nightmare for ODM, and this is the point of conflict with UDA.
Linda Ground has morphed into Linda Chama and has been sent into a panic and crying mode.
And now Wanga has come out strongly to protect ODM from infiltration, saying they were ready to walk out of any negotiations.
“Ka ngato omulo chama wa. Kata in ema omiyo wa mo moleny (If someone tries to destroy our party, even if he is the one who gives us ghee). Waweyo ne mo no (We will leave that ghee),” she said.
Wanga said it was time to protect the party from intrusion and to prevent the party from losing its parliamentary strength in the next election.
“We must protect the party. You cannot go to the negotiation when you only have 20 MPs because you will have no bargaining power,” she said.
Junet claimed that state machinery was being used to pressure ODM legislators – particularly from the Coast and Western regions – to defect to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
For Linda Ground, the two plausible options are to stay in the marriage and accept to play second fiddle, or swallow their pride and unite with Linda Mwananchi.
