KISUMU, 8th Oct 2026 – As the first anniversary of former premier Raila Odinga’s demise got underway with the official handing over of the mausoleum, The Mwananchi Party (TMP) leader Babu Owino has reignited a silent political storm regarding ODM succession.
Fielding questions during a breakfast interview at a national radio station on Wednesday 7th, Babu, who is also Embakasi East MP, said the late opposition doyen’s children deserve a place within the 20-year-old Orange party’s top hierarchy.
According to Babu, Raila Junior and his sister Winnie Odinga should not only be given the mantle to succeed their father by carrying aloft his ideals, but also be voted in for the respective political seats they are gunning for in Nairobi in the 2027 General Election.
His remarks come hot on the heels of Saturday’s symbolic endorsement of EALA MP Winnie Odinga as political heiress to her father by the Luo Council of Elders — an event given a wide berth by her brother Raila Junior, who was installed as head of the Odinga household at Opoda Farm in Bondo on 23rd October 2025.
Raila Junior was also endorsed by his mother on 24th August 2025 to vie for the Kibra parliamentary seat.
In a counter move, Raila Junior, Jaoko Oburu Odinga and a delegation of Jokawuor Council of Elders endorsed Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya as a “key political advisor” to the younger generation of the Jaramogi family at his Mambole home in Kakamega County. They termed the longtime relationship between the two families as cordial.
The endorsements and counter-endorsements have left supporters and political pundits speculating over ODM succession.
“Unfortunately, Mama Ida’s children don’t feel a sense of belonging in the ODM leadership. They have been left out. One of his children should be given a seat through a legal party process,” Babu noted.
“It is like erasing Baba’s legacy. We can’t continue enjoying fruits of Raila’s struggle while his children are left in political Siberia,” he said.
Babu further observed that bitter infighting among the political class in the Luo region is due to succession politics. He bemoaned how he was unceremoniously kicked out of ODM due to Luo kingpinship and queenpinship politics.
He alleged that his political woes began due to a frosty relationship with Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga and Homa Bay Town MP Opondo Kaluma, who he says have waged a concerted and weaponised attack on him.
“This stems from the moment Wanga severally endorsed UDA’s Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for a second term bid under the ODM ticket, while I was categorically told that I won’t be given the ticket but told to focus on Embakasi East Constituency,” he claimed.
This, he said, happened despite having fought alongside Raila and even being abducted for three days while championing ODM’s cause.
“It is our party that we loved, but unfortunately we are seeing it being destroyed,” Babu said, recalling that he has come under heavy criticism from colleagues over his remarks that he knows those who will be elected and those who will be kicked out.
He urged leaders to embrace social democracy and multipartyism.
“Let’s have healthy competitions by having different political parties to provide quality leadership, just like having several denominations in a religion,” he stated.
Babu added that he has been a victim of politically instigated goonism during Raila’s burial and other Linda Mwananchi activities, some resulting in death.
On TMP sponsorship, Babu revealed he is the one sponsoring it alongside friends, and they look forward to building alliances with like-minded parties and rallying behind a presidential candidate endorsed within its coalition.
The party, he said, will field candidates for all seats – MCAs, MPs, Woman Representatives, Senators and Governors – across the country.
Babu averred that “the Luo community aren’t going to have a presidential or deputy presidential candidate in 2027, and therefore must die with the Nairobi governor’s seat.”
He reiterated that he enjoys immense support from opposition leaders such as Rigathi Gachagua (DCP), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) and Fred Matiang’i (Jubilee). “They have left Nairobi in my hands.”
In a message to the Luo community, he said his stab at the presidency and victory in 2032 “will wipe away the tears off their faces after decades of prolonged neglect.”
Babu’s suggestion on inclusion of Raila’s children adds a new twist, as ODM party leader Dr Oburu Oginga is Raila’s elder brother and uncle to Winnie and Raila Junior. The other party offices were duly filled by the National Delegates Conference and Governing Council, and ratified by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
With less than a year to the next general polls, political observers will be keenly watching how the current ODM leadership will handle this new political wild card as it navigates the murky terrain of balancing party unity since the death of its founder, Raila Odinga.
