By Brian Kiprono - Reporter
Kenya, January 18, 2026 - EALA MP Winnie Odinga has delivered a blunt message to sections of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leadership, warning that she will not stay quiet as internal tensions continue to unsettle the party.
Speaking during a rally in Kibra on Sunday, Winnie accused some ODM leaders of pursuing selfish interests and working behind the scenes to sideline her from the party’s internal affairs. She said she was fully aware of the resistance she faces but insisted intimidation would not silence her.
“As the last born, when you see things go wrong, lazima uchome. I have come kuchoma,” she told a cheering crowd, signalling her readiness to openly challenge what she views as wrongdoing within the party.
Winnie said she frequently reflects on the current state of ODM, describing a party grappling with uncertainty following the absence of its long-serving leader, Raila Odinga. She likened the situation to a vehicle whose driver suddenly disappears mid-journey.
“We were passengers and Baba was the driver and then one day Baba was no more,” she said. “Out of nowhere, those who were near him rushed to the steering wheel, and they are all pulling it every direction. And they are pushing us like luggage.”
In a fiery address, Winnie dismissed what she termed as “small threats” from within the party. “Hamunitishi,” she said, borrowing from a popular song. “Small threats will do nothing to me. You cannot scare me.”
She was quick to clarify that her family was not aligned to any of the emerging factions battling for control of the party. “As a family, we are not in either faction. We are team Baba,” she said.
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Winnie also accused some leaders of hypocrisy, claiming that individuals now presenting themselves as close allies of Raila Odinga never truly believed in his political cause. “There are people who never believed in Baba, they were just using him,” she said. “There are people who have never been there during ODM struggles.”
Looking ahead, she urged ODM members to remain patient until the party’s National Delegates Congress (NDC), which she predicted would be a tense and decisive gathering. “We want to go to the NDC, and there, things will be hot,” she said.
Winnie also criticised leaders who claim to be acting on alleged instructions left behind by Raila Odinga. “Those who are saying Baba said this or said that are not well mannered,” she said.
Her remarks echo warnings she issued during an ODM meeting in Mombasa late last year, where she cautioned against what she described as the “auctioning” of the party to political interests, insisting that ODM must remain true to its founding ideals.
