How Orange bigwigs made compromises to steady Raila’s party

ODM bigwigs were on Monday forced to make a tactical retreat and abandon their hard line positions to save the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s party from disintegration.

Following Raila’s death, the 20-year-old party almost imploded as factions within its leadership pulled in opposite directions.

At the centre of the of the ODM crack was whether the party should back President William Ruto’s 2027 re-election or limit their cooperation to the length of this broad-based government.

Raila died months after inking cooperation deal with Ruto’s UDA which was to last up to 2027.

However, majority of the top leadership have been publicly pushing to have the party support Ruto’s re-election – a move that was opposed by a group led by secretary general Edwin Sifuna.

Multiple sources who attended the Monday Central Committee meeting told the Star how attempts by anti-Ruto ODM camp to have the decision on whether ODM should stay in broad-based taken to party delegates was thwarted.

“He (Sifuna) suggested we take the decision to the delegates to decide, but we told him Mzee (Raila) had done that when he visited many regions and party organs also sanctioned it,” a senior ODM official who attended the meeting told the Star.

 “So we said that chapter (consulting delegates) has already been closed and we are not opening it.”

After lengthy deliberations, a breakthrough was made with rival factions agreeing to a middle ground.

Oburu reportedly played key role in mediating the two sides.

The compromise saw the pro-Ruto faction also agree to halt unilateral engagements that would commit ODM to the government without consensus.

“We also cautioned our leaders who are trying to sway us to get into early alliances, we told them the secretary general is our spokesperson and we are going to tell him what he should say,” a lawmaker who attended the Monday meeting told the Star.

“Any other person should not try to commit or speak on behalf of the party, that is what we said and we all agreed on.”

In return, hardliners opposed to any dealings with Ruto consented to back the broad-based government arrangement up to 2027.

“Actually we didn’t discuss much about 2027 but agreed to remind ourselves the words of Mzee that we are in this broad-based until 2027,” another member of the top decision-making organ told the Star.

“When we get to 2027 we are going to consult different organs of the party which are going to give us their mandate on how to approach the elections.”

In agreeing to coexist within the broad-based government, ODM’s top brass hopes to ensure the 10-point agenda signed by Raila and President William Ruto is realised.

The main points of the Ruto-Raila deal include full implementation of Nadco report, inclusivity in budgetary allocations, protecting and strengthening devolution, economic investment in youth and leadership, integrity and end of opulence.

The two leaders also agreed to fight corruption, stop wastage of public resources, protect sovereignty of the people, stop abductions, respect constitutionalism and the rule of law.

The Monday agreement is expected to ease growing tension that was threatening to tear the party apart.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Sifuna dismissed claims of disunity and insisted that the party would uphold the Raila’s vision of a unified and peaceful nation.

“We reiterate the commitment of the party to the broad-based government until 2027, a relationship guided by the 10-point agenda entered into for the sake of peace and stability of the country,” he said.

The Nairobi senator said ODM’s participation in government is not an act of submission, but rather a continuation of Raila’s statesmanship and desire to see Kenya move forward in unity.

“ODM is not just a political party; it is a covenant. A covenant that we, the living, must now renew,” Sifuna said.

“Let us resist the temptation to scatter in despair or to fight over political inheritance as leaders often do when giants fall.”

But even as the party tries to forge a common front, some of its lawmakers are still adamant that the party must align with President William Ruto to survive post-Raila.

Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi said ODM is not ready to field a presidential candidate with the capacity to challenge President William Ruto.

“There is nobody in ODM who can run for president as at now because Raila Odinga did not prepare anyone to run for president. If there is a leader who thinks he can run for president, come out and tell us whether you have the capacity to beat Ruto,” he said.

The MP spoke during a church service in Kanyaluo ward, HomaBay county.

He dismissed claims by some ODM politicians that the party is ready to field a candidate in 2027, saying those pushing that narrative are only out to create divisions.

“Some of these leaders who are claiming Raila Odinga did not say we endorse Ruto are small leaders. ODM is not ready to field a presidential candidate in 2027. William Ruto is a former member of ODM. We have gone back to our former members to help us rejuvenate ODM,” Atandi said.

The National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriation Committee chairman said those opposed to Ruto’s re-election bid should quit the outfit.

“If you think you can run for president, you will not use ODM, use your own party. I know some leaders who say that if ODM is going to sign a coalition agreement with Ruto, they are going to exit. Please exit, we have so many leaders who can fit in your shoes,” he said.

Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo said the party and extension the Luo community is firmly behind President William Ruto up to 2027 and beyond.

“When the people’s president passed on, he left us in Canaan with Ruto. So Luos are not going anywhere, we are united behind Ruto,” Odhiambo said.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The compromise reflects the heavy emotional and political burden carried by ODM’s second-generation leadership. Many of them owe their rise to Raila’s mentorship and feel duty-bound to protect the party’s future, even at the expense of their ambitions.