NAIROBI, Kenya—Embakasi East MP and Mwananchi Party leader Babu Owino has called on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to give the children of the late Raila Odinga a formal place in the party’s leadership, opening a fresh debate over succession and the future of the political movement built around the former Prime Minister.
Babu says Raila Odinga Junior and East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Winnie Odinga should be accommodated within ODM’s established structures and allowed to pursue their political ambitions ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a radio interview on Wednesday, October 7, Babu argued that at least one of Raila’s children should be given a leadership position through the party’s formal processes.
“Unfortunately, Mama Ida’s children don’t feel a sense of belonging in the ODM leadership. They have been left out. One of his children should be given a seat through a legal party process,” Babu said.
He warned that leaving the family outside the party’s leadership would undermine the legacy of the veteran opposition leader, whose political career shaped ODM and influenced Kenya’s opposition politics for decades.
“It is like erasing Baba’s legacy. We can’t continue enjoying fruits of Raila’s struggle while his children are left in political Siberia,” he said.
Winnie’s endorsement
Babu’s intervention comes days after a section of Luo elders symbolically endorsed Winnie as the political heir of her late father during a ceremony at Opoda Farm in Bondo, Siaya County, on October 3.
During the ceremony, Rose Otumba, the women’s representative of the Siaya Luo Council of Elders, placed a traditional hat on Winnie’s head and urged her to take on a greater political role following Raila’s death. The event was attended by her mother, Ida Odinga, and other members of the family.
The endorsement was symbolic and did not constitute a formal appointment within ODM. However, it added momentum to discussions about who will carry forward Raila’s political influence as the country approaches the next election cycle.
Winnie’s emergence has unfolded alongside her brother’s own political ambitions. Raila Junior was absent from the Bondo ceremony, while his mother has previously backed his interest in contesting the Kibra parliamentary seat.
On the same day as the Bondo gathering, Raila Junior and Jaoko Oburu, the son of ODM leader Oburu Oginga, visited former Kakamega Governor and Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya at his home in Mabole, where their respective parliamentary ambitions received Oparanya’s backing, according to media reports.
The parallel engagements have brought renewed attention to the different political paths the two siblings may pursue, even as debate continues over the future of the movement associated with their father.
Succession questions
The debate over the Odinga family’s place in ODM comes as the party navigates a leadership transition following Raila’s death.
ODM’s official leadership structure lists Oburu Oginga as party leader, Gladys Wanga as national chairperson and Abdulswamad Nassir and Simba Arati as deputy party leaders. The party’s published organogram also lists Babu Owino as its Secretary for Science and Technology.
Babu’s call therefore raises questions about how the party should balance continuity with its founding political legacy, established leadership structures and the ambitions of politicians seeking a greater role in its future.
His position also comes against the backdrop of his leadership of the Mwananchi Party, making his intervention part of a wider conversation about the relationship between ODM’s established political base and emerging political formations.
The question is whether the Odinga family should receive a formal place in the party’s leadership as a matter of political legacy, or whether such positions should depend entirely on the party’s internal processes and the support of its members.
Babu has called for the matter to be addressed through established party procedures, while warning politicians against destructive infighting as preparations for the 2027 General Election gather pace.
His remarks place the question of the Odinga family’s formal role in ODM squarely within the broader debate over the party’s post-Raila direction, its leadership arrangements and the political future of the movement he left behind.
