NAIROBI, Kenya — Kisumu Women Representative Ruth Odinga has launched a sharp defence of the Odinga political legacy after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi allegedly accused members of the Odinga family of feeling entitled within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
In a lengthy political statement, Ruth Odinga accused Mbadi of disrespecting the sacrifices made by the Odinga family during Kenya’s struggle for multi-party democracy and political freedoms.
The remarks stem from an ODM retreat held in Mombasa on May 4, where party officials and leaders allied to the broad-based government arrangement reportedly met to discuss party affairs and relations with President William Ruto’s administration.
According to the Kisumu Woman Representative, Mbadi told delegates that ODM did not belong to the Odinga family and warned against political entitlement tied to the Odinga name.
She claimed Mbadi further suggested that the late Raila Odinga was “dead and buried” and that current party officials had heavily invested in sustaining ODM.
Ruth Odinga interpreted the comments as a direct attack on her and the wider Odinga family, noting she was the only Odinga present at the retreat.
“I, as an Odinga by biology and also ideological Odinga, believing in what Jaramogi and Raila stood for, cannot sit pretty and allow this to pass without setting the records straight,” she said.
She defended the family’s historical role in Kenya’s democratic struggles, arguing that ODM emerged from the political influence and reform agenda championed by Raila Odinga and his father, Kenya’s first Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
“It is not the ODM Party that made Raila Odinga. It is the people of Kenya who made him who he was in life, and even in death, because of what he stood for,” she said.
Ruth Odinga recounted periods of exile and state persecution linked to the Odinga name during the one-party era.
She said she fled Kenya after the failed 1982 coup attempt and lived in Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and later Norway as government crackdowns intensified against perceived dissidents associated with the Odinga family.
She described travelling with the Odinga name as difficult and accused previous governments of targeting family members because of their political beliefs.
“Because of the Odinga name I carry, I lived the experience, and it is not something you would wish for your worst enemy,” she said.
The Kisumu women rep also revisited past political compromises she said she made to avoid overshadowing Raila Odinga’s presidential ambitions.
She claimed she was pressured to step aside from the Kisumu gubernatorial race in 2013 despite winning ODM nominations and later accepted subordinate political roles to preserve party unity.
The statement exposes growing tensions within ODM as factions emerge over the party’s cooperation with President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration under the broad-based government arrangement.
While some leaders allied to the arrangement argue the cooperation is necessary for national stability and policy influence, critics within ODM fear the party risks abandoning its traditional opposition identity.
Ruth Odinga said she remained committed to party unity but warned against attempts to diminish the Odinga legacy for political convenience.
“I have a duty to protect the Odinga name from being devalued,” she said.
She also dismissed claims that she seeks political favours through her family name, insisting she would seek support directly from voters and political allies who still believe in the ideals associated with Raila Odinga’s movement.
