Kisumu woman representative Ruth Odinga has fiercely responded to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi following alleged attacks during an ODM meeting in Kilifi on May 4.
Among leaders who attended the meeting included Mbadi, the former party national chairman, who reportedly grabbed his opportunity to attack the Odinga family.
According to Ruth, Mbadi appeared to insult her and the former prime minister Raila Odinga at the event, which the party leader, Senator Oburu Odinga, missed due to unavoidable circumstances.
“He said the ODM party does not belong to the Odingas. That it is not family property and therefore nobody should feel entitled because they carry the Odinga name. He stated further that Raila Odinga was already dead and buried, and even if he were to be alive, he wouldn’t do much because he (Mbadi) and others have heavily invested in the ODM party,” Ruth claimed in a now-deleted post.
She expressed disappointment that Mbadi could demonize the Odinga name and legacy.
She asserted that there are some elements within the party who think that some of them, ‘entitled people,’ have been clinging to the Odinga name for political survival.
In a message addressing Mbadi, the politician informed Mbadi that Raila’s prominence stemmed from the people’s support for his principles, which ultimately gave birth to the ODM party.
She cited the 10-point agenda, the basis of the broad-based arrangement with President William Ruto, stating that inheriting Raila’s legacy requires earning the support of his followers.
“Yes, he is dead and buried, like Mbadi said. But his followers are not dead, nor is his ideology. It is easier to inherit the party or anything else Raila Odinga left behind, but you have to earn the support of his followers, not by coercion and other forms of inducements,” Ruth stated.
She also recounted how carrying the Odinga name deeply affected Raila’s close relations in 1982 following the abortive coup.
Ruth detailed how she went into exile in Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe and later to Norway, recalling a time when a Norwegian businessman and a friend helped her bypass immigration officials at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
“John Mbadi has seen life in exile in the movies. I lived the experience, and it is not something you would wish for your worst enemy. Travelling to Kenya with the Odinga name on my passport was such a nightmare,” she explained.
Source: Facebook
Ruth further discussed how she shelved her political ambitions to protect her late brother’s interests in the presidency in the 2013 and 2017 general elections.
“When in 2022 several leaders were being handed direct party tickets, I refused. Because of the Odinga name I carry, I knew that a direct party ticket would be the end of my political career. So I went to the party primaries, made a spirited campaign, and won. Then I faced other candidates at the general election,” she said.
She stressed that she seeks no preferential treatment due to her name and will instead take her agenda directly to the public.
The late Raila’s sister added that she knows where to find her brother’s genuine allies should she require political support.
Ruth maintained that the ‘Odinga name will not be the punching bag’ and urged Kenyans to trash Mbadi’s misleading entitlement narrative.
Further, she reminded the public that several families paid what she termed as ‘blood tax’ for the democracy the current leaders enjoy.
