Babu Owino: I should be ODM party leader, not Oburu

Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino /HANDOUT

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has urged ODM party leader Oburu Odinga to step aside from active leadership and serve as a trustee.

Babu who claims he is overqualified to lead ODM, said the party needs young and energetic leadership to remain vibrant and relevant.

“Oburu should leave the party to young people like Babu Owino and him to be the trustee. I over-qualify to be a party leader. He should be in the party, I agree, but as a trustee,” he said.

Babu said his successful Linda Mwananchi tours and his swerve political mobilisation efforts have demonstrated his readiness to lead the party.

“We need that young energy. Look at what we are doing in this country, without even proper notice, we are already holding rallies that are carrying thousands and thousands of people,” he said.

Babu linked his push for leadership to what he described as the enduring influence of ODM leader Raila Odinga, popularly known as Baba, saying the spirit of his politics continues to inspire many Kenyans.

“People believe in that spirit of Baba, the Babaism,” he said, suggesting that youthful leaders like him are best placed to carry forward that legacy.

The MP warned that the wrangles within ODM risk to weaken the party if not resolved.

He called for an urgent National Delegates Conference (NDC) to break the leadership stalemate and chart a clear path forward.

“That is why some of us in the Linda Wananchi saw that there is confusion in the house within the Linda Ground team and we said that the only thing that can break this deadlock is an NDC called by the current secretary general with an audited list of delegates so that we can move this party in the right direction,” Babu said.

He said generational transition is inevitable and necessary for ODM’s survival, insisting that young leaders must be allowed to take charge while senior figures remain as advisors and custodians.