The death of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga and the broad-based political arrangement with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to ensure the re-election of President William Ruto will not result in ODM ceding its strongholds.
ODM Deputy Party Leader Simba Arati, Chairperson Gladys Wanga, Secretary-General Catherine Omanyo (Busia Woman Representative), Suna East MP Junet Mohammed and other leaders maintained that parties such as ODM would safeguard their strongholds through strong grassroots support and structures to secure the highest numbers of governors, senators, Members of Parliament and Members of County Assembly.
Addressing Turkana ODM branch delegates in Lodwar on Friday night, after kicking off a three-day series of memorial rallies at Kataboi in Turkana North Constituency and Lodwar in Turkana Central Constituency, Ms Wanga said ODM had settled after navigating uncharted waters following Mr Raila’s death.
“It is normal to experience the turbulence we had. We have now settled, and we have realised that the vast majority of our people are still intact in the party. Don’t be threatened and forced to leave the party. With my spot check across the country, the broad-based team will form the next government, and it will be a 50-50 government between ODM and UDA. We will also have 50-50 negotiations: UDA takes the President, and ODM will take the Deputy President,” she explained to the delegates.
She said ODM would have to win a convincing number of elective seats in counties to be assured of 50-50 negotiations for top government jobs. This would enable it to demand 10 ministerial positions, with Turkana retaining the Cabinet Secretary position given to Beatrice Askul by the late Mr Raila as one of the party’s strongholds.
“We are building alliances, aligning priorities and establishing joint strategies with grassroots leaders and delegates to secure a clean sweep for ODM in Turkana County in next year’s elections, alongside a strong performance for the Broad-Based Coalition,” Ms Wanga said.
She warned the Turkana ODM branch against concentrating too much on who would be the flag bearer, urging it to establish strong grassroots structures and hold meetings to streamline operations.
“The party has over 100 MPs who can attend Parliamentary Group meetings, after only four people left the party following the death of the former Prime Minister. We had 15 governors, but Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai and Siaya Governor James Orengo have left. We are ready to have more numbers in 2027,” Ms Wanga said.
Raila Odinga Junior (second left), ODM deputy party leader Abdulswamad Nassir (second right) and other party leaders during a rally in Garissa town on October 18, 2026.
Photo credit: Pool
Mr Mohammed maintained that Turkana was still an ODM zone, noting that he had played a critical role in Governor Lomorukai’s campaign.
“How can he forget this so early? We are in the broad-based arrangement, but we will ensure that one of the two MPs, Turkana North’s Ekwom Nabuin and Turkana South’s Ariko Namoit, replaces Mr Lomorukai, in addition to winning many other seats at the county level. Since 2013, we have had an ODM governor elected in Turkana, and in 2027, the governor will be from ODM again,” he said.
He said ODM and UDA were the only parties in government and that there was no value in hopping between parties. He added that, for whatever reasons, even within ODM, challenges facing a candidate could be resolved internally instead of shifting to UDA.
“If UDA forms the next government, 2032 will be ODM’s turn to produce a President. We will have done it the way we did with Jubilee, The National Alliance (TNA) and the Party of National Unity,” Mr Mohammed said.
Mr Arati promised to ensure that the party settled on its flag bearer early enough to roll out campaigns to reclaim the governorship in Turkana.
“We will have free and fair nominations so that, as ODM, we can plan early on how to deal with parties yet to tell Kenyans of their plans, such as how crude oil will benefit the Turkana community or how they will address water scarcity,” he said.
He promised to streamline the party’s grassroots structures to deal with competing aspirants flexing their financial muscles, so that ODM could stand the test of time, just like Chama Cha Mapinduzi, which has remained a dominant force in Tanzania for more than 40 years.
Mr Nabuin said ODM was still the most popular party in Turkana and that the ongoing rallies had confirmed that people remained loyal to it. He added that those who had left for other political formations would suffer the consequences.
Ms Omanyo urged delegates to avoid internal wrangles, saying the party was bigger than any individual and that they were expected to strengthen it to attract new members.
Raila Odinga Junior said that, as the late party leader’s son, he had confirmed that ODM strongholds remained intact. He urged leaders to remain united and carry forward his late father’s legacy of pushing for equitable development through the broad-based government.
ODM National Organising Secretary Ahmed Abdullahi said some of those who had left the party were using the late party leader as a ladder to get elected.
“If they refuse to come back, it will mark the end of their political lives. In Turkana, we will make sure we have one ODM candidate for governor,” he said.
In Turkana, the party has faced a significant political setback since Mr Odinga’s death, first losing two ward by-elections a month later and then experiencing a splintering of its county branch into two competing factions.
When Ms Wanga was accompanied by MPs Beatrice Elachi (Dagoretti North), Felix Odiwuor Jalang’o (Lang’ata) and Esther Passaris (Nairobi) to campaign for ODM candidates in the Nanam and Lakezone ward by-elections, Turkana South MP Ariko Namoit and Turkana North MP Ekwom Nabuin hosted them separately.
Dr Namoit supported Mohammed Ahmed Yusuf as his preferred candidate for the Nanam ward by-election, while Mr Nabuin backed Stephen Lochilil (Obiro) for the Lakezone ward by-election, where he is a registered voter. Both candidates lost to the United Democratic Movement, with Ms Wanga having stressed the need for unity among party leaders and stronger grassroots support to ensure the county remained an ODM zone.
The county, which has predominantly been an ODM zone and has consistently voted overwhelmingly for Mr Odinga as its presidential candidate, has two camps led by the two MPs, who want to take full control of the party and become its flag bearer in the gubernatorial race.
With intense competition from UDA, Ms Wanga is expected to lead the ODM team in consolidating party loyalty and support during the memorial rallies, which cover the two wards where the party lost the by-elections.
This comes against the backdrop of two separate Raila Odinga death anniversary celebrations organised by the two MPs in Lodwar town, as they seek to establish themselves as the preferred ODM gubernatorial aspirants.
