{
  "id": 11760103,
  "title": "How ODM after Raila is struggling to balance opposition’s legacy and Ruto alliance",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/how-odm-after-raila-is-struggling-to-balance-oppositions-legacy-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-03T20:05:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "People Daily Kenya",
    "slug": "people-daily-kenya",
    "url": "https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/how-odm-after-raila-is-struggling-to-balance-oppositions-legacy-and-ruto-alliance"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "One year after the demise of Raila Odinga, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is grappling with how to reconcile its former opposition stance with a political partnership with the current administration led by President William Ruto. This dichotomy has put the party's post-Raila identity under intense scrutiny as it marks the first anniversary of its founder's death on October 15, 2026. Commemorating Raila's memory through a programme called Mwezi wa Baba, the party has organized nationwide candle-lighting, regional rallies, and memorial events, culminating in a memorial event at his burial site in Bondo, Siaya County. The anniversary marks a shift from a confrontational political force to a coalition with the Ruto administration, a development that critics argue diminishes ODM's role as a potent opposition party.\n\nThe partnership between ODM and the Ruto government began in March 2025, when the two leaders signed a joint framework for cooperation, which aimed to implement National Dialogue Committee recommendations, promote inclusivity in governance, enhance devolution, address the debt crisis and corruption, support peaceful assembly, and uphold constitutional principles. Initially, both leaders emphasized that the agreement was not a political union between ODM and the UDA party. Raila defended the arrangement as a response to the nation's political tensions, arguing that leaders could not merely criticize from afar while facing major challenges.\n\nPost-Raila, ODM entered into the broad-based government under new party leadership, led by Oburu Oginga. The current leadership maintains that the move was a conscious decision made from a position of strength, not a forced arrangement, and that the objective was to promote stability and influence government policy. The party highlights areas of common ground with the government, such as housing and universal healthcare, to justify its political strategy. However, this approach has faced criticism, with some arguing that the party has become \"toothless,\" retaining its name and structures but lacking the appetite to challenge the government on behalf of citizens.\n\nDespite these concerns, ODM's anniversary celebrations will focus on the values and causes championed by Raila, including opposition politics, constitutional reform, electoral reform, and demands for greater political inclusion. While the party maintains that its political negotiations are centered on a 50-50 power-sharing arrangement with the UDA, there are questions about how it can continue to serve as an independent watchdog while simultaneously supporting the administration. The challenge for ODM is to preserve Raila's legacy as a champion of democratic struggle while managing its evolving political relationship with the Ruto government.",
  "summary": "One year after the death of Raila Odinga, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is commemorating the man who built it around opposition politics while simultaneously navigating a political partnership with the government he spent much of his career challenging. That contrast has placed ODM’s post-Raila identity under renewed scrutiny as the party marks the first […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "People Daily Kenya",
        "title": "Kalonzo warns opposition leaders against becoming Ruto moles",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/kalonzo-warns-opposition-leaders-against-becoming-ruto-moles",
        "published": "2026-10-03T15:36:28.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}