Raila Odinga Jnr Joins ODM Faction amid Divisions after Raila's First Memorial

Raila Odinga Junior seems to be gravitating toward the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) faction that has aligned itself with President William Ruto and is supporting his 2027 re-election bid. 

He is part of the team that landed in Garissa on Sunday, October 18, for the party's North Eastern Delegates' Convention.

Junior accompanied a host of senior ODM officials and figures, including national chairperson and Homa Bay governor Gladys Wanga, deputy party leader and Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir, Mining CS Hassan Joho, and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed.

Junior's association with the foregoing came at a time when political undercurrents outweighed the memorial of his father, with assertions emerging that the family led by Mama Ida Odinga was leaning toward the opposition faction comprising rebels like Senator Edwin Sifuna of Nairobi, Siaya governor James Orengo, and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, among others.

Wanga's group did not attend the memorial, while the Sifuna one did.

At the event, Junior's sister, EALA MP Winnie Odinga, rose to speak in apparent favour of the Sifuna group. She even went ahead to declare her bid for the Nairobi senator seat while referencing Sifuna's rise and interest in the presidency as her inspiration.

Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, Ruth Odinga, the current Kisumu woman representative and 2027 gubernatorial aspirant, also appeared to be dissenting from the mainstream ODM, suggesting she would quit the party if it did not align with her ideals.

Junior's presence in Wanga's team indicated he had decided to be part of the Ruto-leaning team, as his immediate kin sent mixed signals.

His uncle Oburu Odinga, who is ODM party leader and Siaya senator, has declared his support for Ruto.

Junior is eyeing the Kibra MP seat in the 2027 vote.

The Orange party, since the demise of its founding leader Raila Odinga on October 15, 2025, has been rocked by divisions and infighting, with a section of former loyalists breaking away to form Linda Mwananchi, a movement now rising against Ruto.

Raila's elder brother, Oburu, took over the party and declared his support for Ruto's re-election.

During the first memorial of Raila on October 15, 2026, the divisions became apparent as the rebels' faction gained prominence after they attended the event, which was skipped by a majority of those in Ruto's fold.

The Ruto-leaning team was represented by second ODM deputy leader and Kisii governor Simba Arati and Energy and Petroleum CS Opiyo Wandayi.

The rebels regrouped in Linda Mwananchi as they front Senator Sifuna as their presidential candidate against Ruto next year.

At the time of his death, Raila was partnering with President Ruto, having crafted the broad-based government that saw the entry of senior ODM officials into the Cabinet.

Ruto dissolved the Cabinet at the height of the Gen Z revolt in July 2024, after which Wycliffe Oparanya and Joho, then serving as deputy party leaders, joined the Cabinet as Co-operatives and Mining CSs respectively.

Wandayi, then Ugunja MP and ODM secretary for Political Affairs, joined as the Energy CS, while John Mbadi, then nominated MP and ODM national chairman, joined as the National Treasury CS.

In sustaining their criticism of the Ruto regime, Sifuna and his allies argued that the CSs joined the Cabinet in their personal capacities and not as representatives of ODM, given that they gave up their party positions.

After months of dissenting from the ODM leadership, Sifuna was ultimately ejected from the party earlier this year and now has the Linda Mwananchi faction as his political vehicle.