Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has maintained that there is no bad blood between her and her elder brother and ODM party leader, Oburu Odinga.
In a statement issued on Monday, March 1, Ruth dismissed claims that she had disrespected Oburu by not taking sides in the ongoing party wrangles.
She reiterated her position that ODM must remain united as a party and argued that holding a different opinion from the Party Leader does not amount to disrespect.
“How does calling for ‘wantam’ and ‘tutam’ proponents to come together and work as a single voice amount to disrespect?
“I am an old woman. Where do I get the energy to fight the Youth Leader? Those claiming I am fighting Dr Oburu are the real enemies of ODM,” the Woman Rep posed.
Ruth maintained that the relationship between her and her older brother was intact, and the two spoke at length about several issues apart from the party.
She maintained that Oburu was the legitimate ODM party leader and demanded that everyone within the party respect him.
However, she urged the party to involve young people in the leadership structures demanded for the disbandment of the ‘Linda Mwananchi’ and ‘Linda Ground’ factions.
“As I have always said, we must figure out as a party the inclusion of youth voices in party affairs across the party leadership hierarchy,” the MP added.
The Kisumu Woma Rep insisted that an ODM that was united would have more bargaining chips when negotiating to form a political alliance ahead of the 2027 elections.
She also claimed that there was enough time to sort out internal issues and weigh out its options before finally entering a pre-election pact.
The Woman Rep was among the few leaders within the ODM National Delegates Committee who tried to save embattled Secretary General Edwin Sifuna from his ouster.
Odinga has also been very adamant about the implementation of the NADCO report and the 10-point agenda agreed upon during the formulation of the broad-based government.
