Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga./FILEA showdown looms in Bondo today as key protagonists in the 2027 elections share a podium to mark one year since democracy icon Raila Odinga's death.
President William Ruto is expected to grace the occasion, where he could also share the stage with his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, his new political nemesis.
Uhuru’s office was yet to confirm if the former head of state would attend the memorial service scheduled for Migwena grounds in Bondo constituency.
The two leaders have been trading barbs over the 2027 politics, with family sources indicating that all political figures had been invited to the event.
“We sent invites to everybody in the political class. We are ready to host all those who will show up,” a family source said.
Sifuna’s handlers said they expected the Equitable Party leader at the forum, while Embakasi East MP Babu Owino had confirmed he would be part of the congregation.
Yesterday, organisers put final touches to preparations for the grand event, which has acquired serious political undertones as the country’s political class positions itself for the 2027 general election.
Raila’s widow Ida Odinga said the main reason for the event was to commemorate her husband, insisting that the former Prime Minister belonged to Kenyans across political and religious divides.
“Baba belonged to many people, denominations, and many parties. He was in Kanu, Ford Kenya, NDP, and wherever he was, he left a mark,” Ida said.
She said the guest list included people from Siaya and other parts of the country, representatives of African nations, the United Kingdom and other international guests.
“I plead with Kenyans that we give our visitors the correct image of what Baba stood for. He stood for peace, love and unity,” she said.
Ida urged attendees to set aside their party affiliations in honour of the late former Prime Minister, saying the anniversary offered everybody an opportunity to remember the departed icon.
Siaya Governor James Orengo also led the preparatory activities and accompanied Ida in inspecting the grounds.
“This is a global event. It is an international event. We welcome everybody who wants to remember Raila to come, and come in peace,” he said, warning against acts of violence at the meeting.
As part of the preparations, Ida led a host of leaders in an international candle-lighting ceremony at Raila’s Bondo home. Parallel candle-lighting events were held in various parts of the country.
The events will culminate in a grand gathering at Pap Migwena Cultural and Sports Centre, with dignitaries expected from across the country and beyond.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir urged the political class to consider the event as a time to reflect on the ideals Raila taught.
“As we mark the first anniversary of Raila’s passing, the central message should be Kenya first. If there is one lesson we learnt from Raila, it is the importance of putting the country before everything else,” Nassir said.
But beyond the tributes, the anniversary comes at a delicate moment for the political alliances Raila helped shape.
His absence has left a vacuum in opposition politics and raised questions about the future of his political movement.
The event is also happening at a time Raila’s former allies are sharply divided, with others sustaining the cooperation with Ruto while others like Sifuna are forging new political alliances.
Ruto and Raila entered a political arrangement after the 2024 Gen Z protests, with ODM joining the broad-based government and taking up senior positions in the administration.
While the arrangement helped ease political tensions following the protests that shook Ruto’s government, it has since staged a bitter fallout among ODM top guns.
ODM leaders have turned to the question of what the party stands to gain from the arrangement, including a possible claim to the Deputy President’s position in the next government.
The call is coming at a time the ODM machinery has been forged for Ruto’s reelection bid, with party chairperson and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga maintaining they’ll sticky by the President.
The politics is likely to play out, even though there are grumbles that the party is yet to be given key roles in the grand fete.
For Ruto, the anniversary presents an opportunity to demonstrate his continued relationship with Raila’s political base, even as sections of ODM remain uncomfortable with UDA dalliance.
Sifuna could also use the gathering as yet another platform to underline his differences with the broad-based government arrangement.
The Nairobi senator, who has emerged as one of the outspoken critics of the arrangement within ODM, has become a key figure in the struggle over the party’s political direction.
His attendance, if confirmed, would place him in the same gathering with Ruto at a time when the two have become political adversaries over the direction of the country and the future of opposition politics.
Babu, who has also been associated with efforts to mobilise an alternative political movement, is among the younger leaders whose next steps could shape the 2027 contest.
Nyando MP Jared Okello, while asking the National Assembly leadership to consider a one-minute silence in honour of Raila, said the day is grand.
“There are those of us who have never come to terms with the loss of Baba…to date, we are mourning as one,” he said, hailing Raila’s role in multipartysm and democratic ideals the country practices.
On the future of ODM, he said there was no reason to decamp the government now, arguing that "the ODM founder himself showed us to work with Ruto".
About the anniversary, he said the message should be the equity the country is witnessing as a result of the pact between the two parties.
The presence of such figures alongside Ruto and other government allies could turn the anniversary into an informal meeting point for leaders whose political interests are increasingly diverging.
Uhuru’s possible attendance would add another layer to the intrigues, if the latest exchanges between him and Ruto are anything to go by.
The former President has criticised Ruto and remains an influential figure in discussions about opposition unity ahead of 2027.
His relationship with the President has deteriorated as the two trade barbs over the country's political direction and the legacy of the 2022 election.
When they last shared the podium, at Raila’s burial, there were all signs of no love lost between the country’s top leaders.
Ruto used the burial ceremony in 2025 to warn against attempts to interfere with ODM, assertions that have found meaning over time.
Their interaction would also be closely watched for signs of whether the former President intends to play a more active role in efforts to unite opposition leaders against Ruto.
Raila was a central figure in successive opposition coalitions and a political force capable of bringing together leaders with competing ambitions.
Even as the crowds gather to remember Raila, pundits say the question of who can inherit his political constituency remains unresolved, particularly in Nyanza.
