Premium
Why Oburu Oginga called Jaramogi family crisis meeting
Siaya Senator Oginga Oburu during an interview with NTV at Serena Hotel Nairobi on Thursday, October 30, 2025.
What you need to know:
- The planned meeting comes after weeks of public spats between Dr Oginga and his niece Winnie Odinga.
- Also at the centre of the family feud is Raila Junior who has been accompanying Winnie in recent public rallies.
ODM party leader Dr Oburu Oginga has explained why he called for a crisis Jaramogi Oginga Odinga family meeting on February 1.
The meeting, Dr Oginga says, is meant to seal apparent cracks that have emerged in the family.
The follows pressure from different quarters, including family members, politicians, elders and clan members, for the members family to solve their differences.
Dr Oginga said family deliberations are important in resolving issues and that is why he called for the meeting.
Winnie Odinga addresses a political rally at Kamukunji Grounds in Kibera, Nairobi, on January 18,2026.
In reference to his nice, Winnie Odinga, Dr Oginga said young people sometimes express divergent views in different ways but he is keen on giving them an audience.
“Young people have a lot of time, some of us are just holding on for them. I love them and that is why sometimes I cannot argue with them because I don’t see anything to argue about. I am there for them if they need any advice. We are going to talk and establish where the problem is and I can assure you that all this will be in the past very soon. So it should not worry anyone,” Dr Oginga said during an interview with Citizen TV.
The development comes a day after President William Ruto nominated Ida Odinga, the widow of Raila Odinga, as Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), a move analysts say is expected to sway the discussion on the future of ODM and the Oginga family’s engagement with the Head of State.
The planned meeting comes after weeks of public spats between Dr Oginga and his niece Winnie, in what has now spilled over into ODM, forcing party members to take sides.
The move to call for a truce comes following recent remarks by Winnie that have been viewed as being ‘disrespectful’ to his uncle Dr Oginga.
Ms Odinga, a member of the East Africa Legislative Assembly, has also been accusing a section of the ODM’s leadership allied to Dr Oginga of planning to sell the party and speeding up the process of entering into a pre-election pact with President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
The same sentiments are shared by Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga, who is Dr Oginga’s youngest sister.
However, in an interview with a vernacular TV station, the Woman Rep stressed that the Odinga family is not the source of the divisions within ODM.
She claimed money is being dished out an effort to destabilize the party.
Also at the centre of the family feud is Raila Junior who has been accompanying Winnie to recent public rallies.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s children, Raila Odinga Jr and Winnie Odinga, attend a political rally at Kamukunji Grounds in Kibera, Nairobi, on January 18, 2026.
On Friday, Raila Junior said via social media that the planned family meeting should happen sooner.
“I am not a politician. I love and respect everyone. My uncle has agreed to a family meeting on the February 1 and I would even like it sooner. I do not know what is happening. Do not involve me in these politics,” he said.
In recent weeks, the infighting within the Odinga family has intensified, even as Dr Oginga’s allies continue pushing to have him accepted as the new centre of authority following Raila Odinga’s death in October last year.
Members of the Odinga family have also been missing in action in various ODM meetings. On other occasions, they have organized parallel meetings as was the case when Winnie attended a public rally in Kibra while Dr Oginga was at a Linda Ground forum in Kakamega.
On that occasion, Winnie yet again warned that ODM risks losing public support due to selfish individuals advancing their personal interests.
“Baba died just the other day. What is the hurry? Let us talk first and move forward together. Baba was never a sycophant. There was not a single day when Baba told us he had left us,” Winnie said.
That was not the first time she was questioning the abilities of the party’s top leadership.
During the ODM@20 celebrations in Mombasa, Ms Odinga even questioned the capability of her uncle to manage the broad-based talks with President Ruto, saying only her late father could do so.
This, coupled with her calls for a National Delegates Conference to elect a substantive party leader, has been viewed as taking his uncle head-on, in open defiance.
But in an interesting twist, Winnie has shelved a planned rally in Bondo after Raila Junior posted of a family meeting, and their mother, Mama Ida, was nominated by President Ruto as ambassador.
Meanwhile, in what appears to be his latest move to marshal the Luo Nyanza support, Dr Oginga has convened a public forum dubbed “Mbaka Joka Nyanam”, which loosely to translates to “dialogues of the Luo community.”
ODM party leader Oburu Oginga addresses his supporters at a rally in Kisumu city on January 24, 2026.
At the same time, Dr Oginga has dismissed claims that he is copy-pasting his late brother’s political style, saying he is a vastly experienced political leader in his own rights.
He made the remarks while arguing that he was handed the leadership mantle despite not having expressed interest in the position.
“I am not Raila’s copy and paste. His shoes are too big for many, including myself,” said Dr Oginga.
“Raila is my follower. I never dreamt that he would die ahead of me. I am still pained by the happenings. I knew he would be the one to bury me. He left us and I have taken his seat. I did not know that one day I would wear his shoes,” he said.
Dr Oginga further assured his supporters that ODM would remain firmly in the broad-based government where Raila left them.
He added that the party remains guided to pursue the broad-based government’s 10-point agenda.
“What I need is your support to steer the party to the next level. As your leader, I cannot take you in the wrong direction. I appreciate that you want me to move forward,” he said.
The dialogue forums, which Dr Oginga said will be held across the country, are aimed at collecting the views of party supporters ahead of the broad-based government negotiations.
Meanwhile, ODM leaders from Nyanza have reaffirmed their support for Dr Oginga, saying he remains the party leader as per the decision of ODM’s National Governing Council.
“Dr Oginga will be confirmed as ODM leader by the party’s National Delegates Convention. We should be aware that Dr Oginga is our party leader from now onwards. There are those saying he is old, party leadership is neither football nor wrestling that needs energy, it is about knowledge,” Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga said.
Ms Wanga further said Dr Oginga has already shown his qualities by being in the forefront of the broad-based government negotiations.
