By Anderson Ojwang
President William Ruto is having a field day in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in the current power game after the exit of the late Raila Amolo Odinga.
President Ruto in October during Raila’s burial said he will ensure that the party doesn’t slip into the hands of those opposed to the broad-based government.
The chess game in the ODM power matrix has left some as pawns in the game while others are fast becoming kings and monsters to President Ruto.
The script began immediately after the formation of the broad-based government arrangement, and it took a different trajectory with the death of Raila.
Raila was the stumbling block and blew hot and cold over the future coalition, even directing his members against propagating a two-term agenda.
Raila went ahead to ask his team, “Who told you ODM will not field a presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections?”
According to South MP Caroli Omondi, who was at the meeting, the late Raila only allowed Cabinet Secretary for Treasury John Mbadi and his Energy counterpart Opiyo Wandayi to champion Ruto’s two-term campaigns, while the MPs were restrained save for Alego MP Sam Atandi who had asked for exemptions.
“Raila told us not to say two-term. And if any MP wants to contradict that, let them try and we will tell them where they were told.”
The plot building
Raila’s death marked the beginning of the power game. While the Secretary General Edwin Sifuna was on board a flight to India to collect the body of Raila, back at home, a team was meeting to install Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga as the acting party leader, bypassing immediate former acting party leader Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o.
Omondi gave an insight into what could be happening in the party and the emergence of a mysterious hand pulling shots in the party.
“There was a very quick transition even before Baba’s body arrived. When Mzee Oburu announced that he had accepted to be the party leader, he said he did not even know that there was a process to make him party leader. What that implies is that that call came from somewhere else. And that worries me a lot. This is because it therefore seems that ODM is getting directions and controls from somewhere else,” he said.
The plot thickens at ODM at 20 celebrations
Hardly 40 days of mourning Raila, ODM was in Mombasa to celebrate the 20 years, even after the protest by Raila’s family for postponement.
From Mombasa, ODM Linda Ground was birthed and embarked on a countrywide tour with a view to test ground ahead of pre-election coalition pact with UDA.
That marked the last public function of Secretary General Edwin Sifuna and the unsuccessful attempt by Oburu to sack him.
The Linda Ground plot
The once cash-strapped ODM finally gained flamboyance and held its meetings in five-star and high-end hotels.
Sifuna revealed that the funds and resources being used in the ongoing Linda Ground engagement did not come from the party.
He said the party was owed over Sh12 billion by the government for the political party funds, which has negated its operations.
“The money and the resources you see being spent on the ODM rallies called Linda Ground, the monies do not come from ODM headquarters. For me, I can only account for the monies because I am a signatory to the bank accounts, Timothy Bosire is a signatory to the bank accounts. The last money we expended as ODM officially was for the celebration in Mombasa and it was a fraction of what you saw there,” he said.
Kisumu Women Representative Ruth Odinga wondered about the source of money flowing into the party.
“As a signatory to the ODM account, if he questions where all the money for choppers, big tents and ODM branded t-shirts and caps in the ‘Linda Ground’ conventions are coming from, why should anyone abuse him? Those with the answers, why can’t you provide them? Are governors funding the campaigns? Are MPs doing it from CDF kitty? Did we get a philanthropist that a Party SG is not aware of who is funding the clearly expensive public fora? And what is in it for the philanthropist?” she questioned.
Ida Odinga appointment and exit from the scene
The appointment of Raila’s widow, Mama Ida Odinga, was strategic and leaves a vacuum in the ongoing political re-organization.
After showing support for Sifuna and urging for dialogue, her continued stay in the political space would thaw any move in the power game.
Her appointment strategically leaves her out of the political space and her hands are tied by the appointment.
She takes over from ODM Secretary General Ababu Namwamba, who has moved to Uganda.
The Return of Ababu
At the ODM’s SDC, Ababu Namwamba reappears. Strategic reappearance. A key ally of President Ruto, a possible candidate for the Secretary General post.
In Ababu, President Ruto hopes he can finally have total control of the party should Ababu be made the Secretary General.
Winnie Odinga plot
She is the hard nut to crack. The only surviving soul of her political journey. Her journey to become one of the deputy party leaders has been frustrated.
Reason: her presence in all the ODM organs would stagnate the power game and she is capable of masterminding a coup.
The Nairobi branch has insisted that Winnie Odinga must be made one of the party’s deputy leaders against opposition from some quarters. This could be the fault line leading to a chaotic situation during the meeting.
Winnie said the Nairobi branch must have a seat at the NDC on March 27th because of their contribution and that ODM was her home.
“ODM is our home. ODM is the party my father built. Why should I leave and go where? I will remain in ODM. In this journey it has not been easy. We still have a place to go and the party position should be considered for those people who have put their lives in the struggle. It is in Nairobi where we demonstrate and not the villages. There are no demos in the villages. You cannot deny Nairobi its right. Nairobi must have a seat. On the day, on March 27th, Nairobi will have our day and say,” she said.
The Monster in the waiting
President Ruto has successfully succeeded in achieving his mission in controlling the ODM but has also created a political monster.
The Linda Mwananchi faction of the party has the soul of Raila and enjoys organic support. It is a tsunami in the making and will not rely on the party to champion its agenda.
If anything, the train has left the station and it is just a matter of time before ODM is relegated to the periphery as Ruto fights the monster.
