By Anderson Ojwang
The double pain and double blow. Even before the dust of the demise of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, the late Raila Amolo Odinga, could settle and heal, the family has been struck by harsh reality.
The reality of witnessing Raila’s treasured asset, the ODM party, undergo destruction by the same people he had entrusted with it.
Winnie Odinga, the last-born, in a recent function said: “I didn’t see the death of my father coming. And even before I could recover, I saw the destruction of what he had built and treasured so dearly by those he had entrusted. I felt so much pain.”
Winnie said when she spoke about the destruction of the party, she was labelled as disrespectful.
What did Winnie say?
In an explosive interview, Winnie talked about the desecration of the party’s creed.
Winnie raised the red flag over the desecration when she alluded to the fact that ODM was not formed from the comfort of pillows and bedroom talks but from the streets in fighting for social justice, and that is what Raila stood for.
“I raised the statement out of concern that certain people and certain quarters were trying to achieve something which necessarily doesn’t stand for the creed of the ODM party and perhaps want to take advantage of the situation for their own gain,” she said.
The Constitution
Winnie said the constitution of the party was being violated and was not adhered to, subsequently undermining its own existence.
“ODM constitution, people misrepresenting themselves and moving in a manner I feel is not respectful to the creed of the party. I don’t think they have acted in a manner that was respectful to the creed of the former party leader. I know they are not being respectful to the constitution of ODM. Constitutionally, no member of the Central Committee or the National Executive Council (NEC) was able to act on behalf of the party of ODM unless they are ratified by the National Delegates Conference (NDC). They forced a celebration during the mourning period. They went and misrepresented that they were the ones in charge, knowing very well they were not in charge until the NDC happens. They have gone ahead to initiate talks. They are not following procedure. They lack the goodwill of the party members, and they have failed to listen to the dissenting voices. The custodian of our constitution is the Secretary General, but now people are being told to leave. That was not ODM. Some were being de-whipped of their roles. That was not what ODM stands for,” she said then.
Winnie denied being disrespectful but maintained that her sentiments were the utmost truth.
“I think I was very respectful. I was put on the headline, I trended, but I spoke out the truth because I knew what I was saying was correct,” she said.
Winnie said when the debate disintegrated into the manner of what she said and how she said it:
“I stepped back, I got low. They wanted to cut me down to size. You have been in politics; you know the midnight talks. They wanted to cow me, and to some extent they succeeded. I was agonizing,” she said.
Failed attempt
The attempts by the Nairobi branch delegates endorsing Winnie for the position of deputy party leader during the recent SDC, citing the need to fill a leadership gap in the capital, were scuttled.
The endorsement, backed by representatives from all 17 constituencies in the county, came amid calls for equitable regional representation within the party’s top leadership.
Makadara MP George Aladwa said then that consultations over the past two months culminated in the decision to front Winnie.
“We have had several meetings in the last two months to look for a representative. Every region has representation in the party. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga left us with no representative in the Nairobi region,” Aladwa said.
Winnie said the Nairobi branch must have a seat at the SNDC 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.
Even Deputy Party Leader Abdulsamad Nassir said there was a possibility for a consideration for Winnie to be made as one of the deputy party leaders. But that was just a statement.
ODM National Chairman Gladys Wanga said Winnie qualified but the SNDC was called for the purpose of ratification of the officials, and they will have an ordinary NDC at the end of every fifth year.
The sacking
The move to sack Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has split ODM into two factions: Linda Ground of the party leader Dr Oburu Oginga and Linda Mwananchi of Sifuna, Siaya Governor James Orengo, and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
The Oburu-led faction is inclined towards a pre-election alliance with President William Ruto’s UDA party, while the Sifuna faction is against it and wants to present a presidential candidate.
What next?
Will Raila’s revered treasure live to secure the presidency?
