What Dr Oburu Odinga presided over at Ciala Resort in Kisumu can hardly be called an Orange Democratic Movement meeting. ODM was born as a national, social-democratic movement \u2014 anchored on equality, inclusion and justice for all Kenyans, regardless of tribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the only party, since the return of multiparty democracy, that consistently elected MPs across nearly every community in Kenya.
Those ideals were personified by Raila Amollo Odinga \u2014 ODM\u2019s founder, conscience and ideological spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What unfolded in Kisumu, according to senior leaders present, was a grotesque betrayal of that legacy.
Instead of ideas, there was ethnicity.
Instead of policy, there was bitterness.
Instead of leadership, there was sycophancy \u2014 all unfolding under the watch of Dr Oburu Odinga.
Treasury CS John Mbadi set the tone by urging Luos to rally behind President William Ruto, framing national politics as a Luo-versus-Kikuyu grievance project. This was not strategy \u2014 it was desperation masquerading as ethnic <\/p>\n\n\n\n
mobilisation. At a time when Kenyans are suffocating under taxes, unemployment and debt, Mbadi reduced governance failure to tribal arithmetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raila Odinga warned us, repeatedly, that tribal politics is a dead end. Ironically, Mount Kenya votes have historically been decisive in Raila\u2019s strongest national runs. You do not insult the very bridge you need to cross State House.
Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi went further declaring ODM must cling to government at all costs. That statement alone confirmed what many already suspect: once some leaders tasted Cabinet power, ODM principles became negotiable.
More disturbing still, Wandayi began campaigning for an immediate ODM leadership transition before Raila Odinga\u2019s burial rites were even concluded, pushing for Oburu Odinga\u2019s endorsement by the NEC. That was not urgency. It was naked ambition devoid of respect, culture or political restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang then dragged the meeting to its lowest point by questioning Babu Owino\u2019s legitimacy based on parentage. This argument collapses instantly. The MP for Kisumu East is of Indian descent and married to a Luhya. Indian Kenyans bankrolled ODM when others fled. The Luhya community delivered Raila Odinga his largest voting bloc outside Nyanza.
Selective ethnicity is not ideology. It is convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaders who attempted to inject sobriety \u2014 including Millie Odhiambo and Otiende Amollo \u2014 were met with hostility. Even more alarming was the silence from the chair. Not a single tribal remark was condemned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have seen this movie before. In Kakamega, insults hurled at ODM stalwart Wycliffe Oparanya went unchallenged. A leader who tolerates tribal bigotry in his presence forfeits moral authority.
What we are witnessing is the systematic dismantling of the broad national coalitions Raila Odinga built over decades. In their place is a narrow, transactional survival scheme under the TUTAM banner driven by fear, greed and short-term relevance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When institutions enter terminal decline, administrators are appointed not to rebuild, but to manage closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Oburu Odinga is not renewing ODM.
He is supervising its political winding-up.
What remains is no longer a social democratic movement but a shrinking ethnic enclave, bleeding relevance and losing its national soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What Dr Oburu Odinga presided over at Ciala Resort in Kisumu can hardly be called an Orange Democratic Movement meeting. ODM was born as a national, social-democratic movement \u2014 anchored on equality, inclusion and justice for all Kenyans, regardless of tribe. It is the only party, since the return of multiparty democracy, that consistently elected …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18937"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18938,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18937\/revisions\/18938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodmorningkenya.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}