ODM party leader Dr Oburu Oginga has revealed that he once cautioned his younger brother, Raila Odinga, about the risk of a bitter fallout within the larger Odinga family if they did not conclusively settle the “outstanding matters.”
In an interview with Daily Nation , Dr Oginga said he feared unresolved issues—including the management of their estate—could one day fracture the family’s unity, a unity he and Mr Odinga had long worked to preserve.
According to him, the warning was delivered to Mr Odinga over the phone a few days before he passed away in India on October 15. He disclosed that he and the former Prime Minister had agreed to meet in Dubai on October 19 to address the matter, but the meeting did not take place.
Leaders Oburu Oginga and Raila Odinga during a Christmas service at St Peter ACK Church in Bondo on December 25, 2018.
Photo credit: File | Nation
Dr Oginga told Raila that despite their strong bond and shared political journey, the next generation might not necessarily enjoy the same cohesion. He believed that only a clear settlement of the estate could prevent future disputes.
“I was telling him that there are a few things which are outstanding in the family, including the estate, which we had managed with him,” Dr Oginga recalled.
He urged the late former Prime Minister to “settle the matter once and for all” by ensuring each family member received what was due and by leaving no loose ends that could fuel conflict.
Dr Oginga said his greatest fear was the uncertainty of life—and the possibility that both he and Mr Odinga could depart before putting matters in order.
“Life of a human being is temporary,” he reminded his brother. “If anything happens to you or me, or to both, and we all go, these young people—I don’t see them gelling as much as we gel with you.”
Dr Oginga’s reflections now offer a rare glimpse into the private anxieties that shadowed the Odinga patriarchal transition, even as the family remained a towering force in Kenya’s political landscape.
The ODM leader, who also serves as Siaya Senator, had a simple but urgent message for his late brother: resolve the estate to safeguard the family’s future harmony. But as fate would have it, Mr Odinga passed away before they could meet .
“There might be some squabbles between them. So let us try to resolve some of these issues. It was as if there was a premonition. I was the one raising the issue, and he agreed with me a hundred percent. Before we could do anything, this thing happens—and he dies,” Dr Oginga said, recalling the conversation.
Winnie Odinga alleges plot to 'sell' ODM
Winnie criticised ODM leadership, saying the party’s future should not be decided “in boardrooms and through pillow talk.” A family source told Daily Nation that her tone and timing were shaped by an internal dispute simmering for weeks.
Her absence did not go unnoticed. “It was not accidental. It was deliberate,” the source said.
This fracture became more pronounced during the ODM 20th anniversary celebrations at Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa last weekend.
At the heart of the tension lies ODM’s position in President William Ruto’s broad-based government—a political arrangement the late Mr Odinga endorsed before his death. While Dr Oginga insists this was Mr Odinga’s last directive, Winnie and her allies view it with suspicion, believing it is being mishandled by those who “cannot manage what only Baba could manage.”
ODM leader Dr Oburu Oginga and his niece Winnie Odinga.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
During the Mombasa meeting, Winnie delivered a sharp critique of the party’s current leadership under Dr Oginga.
“Because it’s only one Baba Raila Odinga who would manage it,” she said, questioning whether those managing ODM’s relationship with the broad-based government possess the late leader’s capacity.
She demanded a National Delegates Convention (NDC) to allow members to decide who should steer the relationship, a move that could challenge Dr Oginga’s position as ODM leader after his confirmation by the National Governing Council on October 13.
Dr Oginga responded calmly, reminding attendees of his decades-long bond with his late brother.
“I’m here as a founder member of ODM,” he said. “I stood with Raila Odinga for the 80 years he lived with us. I never betrayed Raila. I was older than Raila, but we grew up as twins. We worked together and I respected him politically—but at home in the Jaramogi family, I was his chairman.”
Turning to Winnie, Dr Oginga chose to handle her concerns privately at a family level.
