By Anderson Ojwang
The death of former ODM leader Raila Amolo Odinga left a power vacuum in the party and provided an opportunity for mysterious hands to call shots at the second largest party in the country.
Similarly, allegations of betrayal of Raila in death by a section of MPs now championing President William Ruto’s two term campaigns after they failed to seek Raila’s permission at the party’s last meeting before his death.
Even before the body of Raila arrived in the country from India, where he died while seeking medical care, the mysterious hand had staged a coup in the ODM leadership structure.
Even the beneficiary of the coup, Dr Oburu Odinga, was not aware of the urgently engineered changes in the party leadership structure.
The engineered leadership coup locked out Kisumu Governor Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, who, by the time of Raila’s death, had not handed over the instrument of power to the deceased and should have continued to act and steer the transition of the party.
Oburu told reporters, “When we were receiving the body of Raila at the airport and the party had just met at 6.00 a.m. in the morning, the NEC and somebody just came and whispered to me, when I was still in shock, that do you know what the NEC has done? You have been appointed as the interim party leader.
I was so shocked. How did they appoint me at this time, when I am still in this state? Then they told me to think about it. They have nominated you to be the one. I feel I am the most sober in the circumstances and I am trying to sober myself. In terms of experience, which other people matches mine?”he said.
ODM Deputy party leader and Mombasa Governor Abdulsmawad Sheriff Nassir read the press statement after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
“We believe in unity of purpose and a stronger democratic party and a party that must live on in many years to come. With this regard the NEC has designated the senator of Siaya County Dr Oburu Odinga to be the acting party leader until the time top party organs will meet and elect a substantive party leader to fit the big shoes that have been left by our party leader,” he read.
From the above, several questions have emerged on who engineered the changes in ODM at 6.00 a.m. before Raila’s body landed in Kenya by 9.00 a.m. aboard a Kenya Airways plane and why.
Why was Nyong’o, who had previously acted on the seat and had not handed over the instrument of power to Raila, ignored in the new power arrangement?
Suba South MP Caroli Omondi gave an insight of 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.
Caroli said the party must not turn it back to former allies, terming that as betrayal, and that there was need for engagement.
“We cannot just wake up and turn our back on the entire Western Kenya that has stood with us on the four election circles. Eastern three election circles, Coast, Masai, Turkana, Kisii four election circles. How do we just walk away? Baba had 7 million votes in the last general elections. Those 7 million votes, I think 24 percent were Luos, so where are 76 percent? There is a big constituency of Baba that we need to engage with,” he said.
Caroli said Raila only allowed Cabinet Secretary for Treasury John Mbadi and his Energy counterpart Opiyo Wandayi to champion Ruto 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 of any MP who wants to contradict that, let them try and we will tell them where they were told.
Only Alego MP Sam Atandi raised his hands as the chairman and member of the Budget Committee and asked Raila to allow him sometimes to say two term. Baba’s instructions were that only Mbadi and Wandayi should say two term, the rest were a no,”he said.
Caroli said there was need for a structured engagement with UDA ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We cannot just move like crowds and cheering like. We must sit down and look at how our engagement is going to be with UDA.
Since UDA came to power, three fundamental things have happened, one Genz revolution, two was the rebellion of Mt Kenya and three the sad demise of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
All these things have to be factored in as you engage with them going forward,” he said.
Party national chairperson Gladys Wanga has defended the broad-based arrangement, saying the party was not apologetic of the party being in the broad-based government and that they have seen results of being in the broad-based government.
But the Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said the ODM members have not resolved to support any candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
“Raila told us that ODM was capable of producing a presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections. Baba asked us to ask you, who told you,” he said.
