By Anderson Ojwang
In Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, he wrote that when the centre can no longer hold, things fall apart. Indeed, the soul of Kenya’s most popular party is at the brink.
Things are falling apart in the late Raila Amolo Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) nine months after his death, and Kenya’s biggest opposition party is fast sliding into the abyss.
Raila’s treasure, ODM, has finally split into two, with Linda Ground aligning with President William Ruto and the broad-based government, while Linda Mwananchi is joining hands with the opposition against Ruto in the 2027 presidential contest.
The Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga-led ODM is in tatters, and the soul and creed of the party, which Raila’s daughter Winnie Odinga mourned, has been desecrated.
The declaration
In Taita Taveta, the Linda Mwananchi spokesperson, Caroli Omondi, announced the breakaway from ODM to Linda Mwananchi.
“It is now become necessary that we break the bond that we have had with ODM. It is now time to break away from ODM. It is time to go separate ways. We will remain to watch over the people,” he said.
Caroli explained to the public why they were walking away from ODM, saying the leadership had betrayed Raila and his ideals.
“We must tell the world why we are breaking away. ODM has become destructive to the welfare of the Kenyan people. ODM has betrayed not just Raila but the ideals that Raila stood for. For this reason, we are now walking out of ODM, and we are now asking all Kenyans who have walked the journey with Raila Amolo Odinga to now come and join Linda Mwananchi,” he said.
Caroli said the ODM party was breaking the legacy of Raila and the community of support he had built.
“Raila built a community of supporters all over the country, from the Coast, Western Kenya, Turkana, Central, North Eastern, and everywhere. Today, ODM has broken relationships with everybody and instead they are concentrating on supporting a government that is collapsing and doesn’t have a future,” he said.
Registration
Caroli also told the public that the group had made an application for the registration of Linda Mwananchi as a political party.
“The application has been made. I am telling the Registrar of Political Parties that you have no right under Section 8 of the Political Parties Act to deny us the right to use Linda Mwananchi,” he said.
Declare war
Caroli warned the Registrar of Political Parties not to interfere with the registration of the outfit.
“I want to tell President William Ruto to stop telling the Registrar of Political Parties not to register Linda Mwananchi as a political party,” he said.
Caroli said the group leadership will visit the offices of the Registrar of Political Parties to engage over the registration.
“And we are coming to your office this week, and if you do not approve that name, Raila Amolo taught us what to do. We will get our name. You will not intimidate us. We will not be beaten, and we will not be cowed,” he warned.
County coordinators
On Friday, it was a fatal blow to Oburu’s Linda Ground team after 36 county coordinators ditched it for Siaya Governor James Orengo, Edwin Sifuna, and Babu Owino-led Linda Mwananchi.
Orengo wrote: “Linda Mwananchi is unstoppable. Today we stood with 36 ODM county coordinators who have rejected Linda Ground. Linda Mwananchi is the final, uncompromised home of the true spirit of the late Raila Odinga,” he wrote.
Orengo said the Oburu faction has lost its soul and that the decisions in the faction and party were no longer being made at Chungwa House.
Caroli said: “If you are the chairman of ODM in any part of the country, change the colours to Linda Mwananchi. The 36 county chairmen and coordinators are now in Linda Mwananchi, out of the 47 counties.”
The immediate former ODM Secretary General Sifuna said county coordinators were Raila’s trusted and main political bloodline, and it was a milestone for the Linda Mwananchi wing.
“The people you see here are Raila Amolo Odinga’s grassroots soldiers. I know that for a fact, because I remain Raila’s last Secretary General, and I have worked with these gentlemen for a decade,” he said.
Sifuna said the group has the network and are the political foundation and were responsible for Raila’s relevance in the country.
“I can assure you that there is no stronger team in the country than these gentlemen you see behind us here. I have seen them, and their names are synonymous with Baba, Raila,” he said.
Sifuna commended the coordinators for standing by the ideals and legacy of Raila.
“We have worked together for a long time to bring about the dream that Baba stood for. We are honoured and humbled that you have resisted all the trappings of power and wealth that we see being exhibited on the other side, and you decided to be the carriers of Raila’s dream for the benefit of the people of Kenya,” he said.
Tatters: Who told you?
In October, during Raila’s first anniversary, Oburu will present to his brother a shattered political party – ODM limping to its grave and playing a fiddle role in the country’s political landscape.
Oburu will be hard-pressed to explain to his brother his last words: “Who told you ODM will not have a presidential candidate?”
In Linda Mwananchi, they will present a presidential candidate to Raila and actualise his dream.
