The roads lead to Mombasa County this weekend, where the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary, bringing together party leaders and those who played a key role in forming the outfit.
Among the founders who were invited in person by the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga to attend the conference is Jane Wangui Muringi.
Although little is known about her in relation to ODM leadership, Ms Muringi was the party’s first secretary-general when it was registered following the 2005 referendum.
In an interview with the Nation, she revealed how the former Prime Minister, who died last month, went all the way to Dandora to look for her, which she said was an unforgettable moment in her life.
“I was at home one evening, and Tony Gachoka called me and said that he was outside my house. He asked me to come out. I said that it was a bit late, and he insisted. When I went out, I found a big car, and being a girl from the ghetto, I was shocked,” Ms Muringi said.
At that moment, Mr Gachoka, whom they had met before in one of the events, directed her to the back seat of the high-end vehicle.
“The man that I was always seeing on television, the enigma, was the one inside the vehicle; Raila Odinga. So I was seated next to this man who nobody had prepared me for. I sat and we did a tour of Nairobi, and I was shaking throughout the entire journey,” she said.
ODM candidate Jane Muringi after being cleared by IEBC to run for Embakasi North parliamentary seat in 2017.
Lawyer Mugambi Imanyara, who first registered ODM before handing it over to Mr Odinga and his team, confirmed that Ms Muringi was indeed its first secretary-general.
“She was our inaugural SG before we replaced her with Mr Tony Chege,” he told Nation.
During the trip, which took them to Kibra and other parts of the city, Mr Odinga revealed why she was important to his next political endeavour.
“He told me that I had what he wanted most, the party. We had registered the party with Mugambi Imanyara. For me, I wanted change when we registered the party, and Raila Odinga believed in change, which I identify with. I said I would give him the party,” Ms Muringi narrated.
She said that it was very easy for her to make the decision without demanding positions or money since Mr Odinga was the figure that she had been dreaming of working with.
“He told me, ‘name your price. What do you need?’ Yes, I was just starting life and I needed a lot, but I told him, ‘no. I don’t need money.’ My connection with him was change, and the only thing that I requested of him was that we work together,” she said.
The following day, they met again to formalise the agreement, which resulted in her stepping down from her position as secretary-general.
In accordance with the agreement with Mr Odinga, she was appointed ODM Secretary for Special Programmes under the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Raila Odinga addressing an ODM rally in Dandora, Nairobi County, in 2012
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
During the Grand Coalition Government, she was appointed Youth Advisor to the Prime Minister, a position she attributed to their close working relationship with the late PM.
“Baba is the one who brought me to the government, and I served him diligently. To me, I met a father. He came in as a father, and I trusted his word. Twenty years down the line, he has kept his words. He became my mentor, my father, and my best friend,” Ms Muringi told Nation.
On September 30, 2025, she received a letter from Mr Odinga, inviting her to attend the Mombasa ODM@20 jamboree.
“I am honoured to invite you to the ODM@20 Celebrations, which will take place in Mombasa, October 10–12, 2025. Your intellectual energy and pioneering vision as a founder of ODM provided the scaffolding on which the movement was built,” the letter, signed by the late PM, reads.
With the death of Mr Odinga, which saw the conference being rescheduled, Ms Muringi received another letter from the acting ODM leader, Dr Oburu Odinga, affirming her role as the founder of the party.
“This letter, therefore, serves as a follow-up to formally reaffirm that invitation and to confirm that — in honour of his vision and consistent with the resolutions of the Party’s Central Committee — the programme for ODM@20 shall proceed. Kindly note that the Founders’ Dinner is now scheduled for 15th October 2025 at Sarova Whitesands Hotel,” part of the letter from Dr Oburu reads.
She also revealed that Mr Odinga had assured her that she would be appointed to a key position in the party. She said that he used to refer to her as ‘Baba’ whenever they met.
Nairobi County Chief Officer for Markets and Trade, Jane Wangui Muringi, during an interview at her office in City Hall on November 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Having been part of the ODM supporters who were at the frontline during the demonstrations and during the coalitions, she believes that under Dr Oburu, the ODM party will remain stronger if the leaders remain united.
Ms Muringi vied for the Embakasi North parliamentary seat twice, in 2017 and 2022, but lost. She now serves as the Chief Officer in charge of Markets in Nairobi County.
“Under the leadership of Dr Oburu, him being the pillar behind Baba, we are in safe hands. We will survive, but we have to acknowledge that everyone is important,” she said.
