ODM leader Raila Odinga and his lieutenants have demanded that President William Ruto acts to end the recent wave of abductions in the country.
This came as key allies, Siaya Governor James Orengo and Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, called out those in the party seen to be condoning and sometimes publicly supporting the ills of the Ruto government, a trend they insisted was against the tenets of the 20-year-old party.
The ODM leaders spoke on Saturday during the burial of Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Commission (KNCHR) Chairperson Roseline Odede at Ruma Primary School in Rarieda, Siaya County.
Ms Odede, who died on January 4, had fought against the abductions and other human rights violations in the State-funded rights defender, with Mr Odinga and ODM asking Kenyans to emulate her.
“Some years back people would be arrested and blindfolded; the officers would then make trips around the city to confuse you before locking you up in dark rooms with inhumane conditions," said Mr Odinga of President Daniel arap Moi-era abductions.
Mr Odinga, himself a political prisoner jailed for nine years by Moi government, explained that the rooms had were nigh-high cold water on the floor.
After enduring all that pain, one would be taken upstairs where you they met interrogators. Those days are gone and we would not want them back.”
The former premier recounted how some people such as Odhiambo Mbai had to pay with his blood to have the new constitutional order in place.
"Many people paid the ultimate price for the constitution. You remember the late Odhiambo Mbai was killed before his own children because of the same constitution, therefore we must respect it."
ODM leader Raila Odinga follows proceeding during the launch of LV Marina in Kisumu on January 18, 2025.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
Governor Orengo highlighted the ills that were witnessed in the previous government that he said must not be repeated by the current administration including dozens of bodies that were retrieved from River Yala.
“As ODM party, we must stand firm. ODM can stand any storm and even if you make compromises, you can make them on matters principle, be okay with your God, and never be part of praise and worship to the government. We must condemn the abductions,” said Mr Orengo.
“I want history to record that when there were abductions, I stood up against and condemned them. You cannot suspend the Constitution; if you do, you will regret in the future.”
Mr Orengo urged ODM members who were co-opted into the broad-based government — which saw the inclusion of five key ODM leaders in President Ruto’s cabinet — not to remain silent when ills are committed by the State.
On his part, Mr Sifuna slammed his ODM colleagues who got opportunity to serve in government over what he termed as sycophancy.
"As ODM party we can't afford to be sycophants to the Kenya Kwanza administration. Some leaders are saying that we allow President Ruto to work, I want to tell them that the same President told us when he was campaigning that he would fix our problems as soon as he was sworn in," Mr Sifuna said in a fiery speech.
The Nairobi County Senator explained that his conscience cannot allow him to remain silent when everything is not right in the country.
"When we condemn the abductions, they say that we are spoiling Mr Odinga's chances for getting the African Union Commission chairperson seat. Two weeks after schools opened, there is nothing going on in schools, they want us to be silent. I can't keep quiet," he stated.
Mr Odinga is contesting the top African Union job, with elections set for February 2025, against Djibouti’s foreign minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and former Madagascar's foreign minister Richard James Randriamandrato.
Mr Sifuna emphasized that, as the ODM Secretary General he is currently steering the party as per the standards set by Mr Odinga himself, which standards include speaking truth to power.
"As the Secretary General of the Orange party, I have instructions from the party leader Mr Odinga to maintain what the party stands for. When you go to the AUC, whether you win or you lose, I will hand the party back in perfect state as you had left it," he added.
Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu recalled how the late KNCHR Chairperson was unsuccessful at getting the top job at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in ahead of the 2017 general poll.
"We must ask ourselves whether this is the one legacy we want to leave behind. That people cannot rise up to their full professional potential simply because of the region she/he comes from. We all know she would have made the best IEBC chair," said Ms Buyu.
Interior PS Raymond Omollo noted that accountability is paramount and that leaders must walk be united to have it achieved.
“It therefore calls for responsibility for all of us, let us work together and make our country be envied by all, not only in the region but also the continent. We can bring change and create a better atmosphere for all of us,” said Dr Omollo.
Earlier in Kisumu, Mr Odinga joined Kisumu County Governor Prof Anyang' Nyong'o in laying ground for a multi-billion housing and commercial project that will revolutionize the real estate industry and change the face of the whole of Lake Victoria.
The Sh120 billion project by the GulfCap Real Estate, a private developer, will consist of houses and social amenities to bridge the growing demand for affordable houses.
The property development dubbed LV Marina will sit on the Kisumu Molasses Plant land owned by the Odinga family, but which has now remained moribund following current business model challenges.
Gulf Cap Real Estate Chairman Suleiman Shahbal said that the project will see the construction of 1,400 affordable houses, commercial premises, and social amenities such as schools, hospitals constructed on the 285-acre parcel.
