Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga has defended the Orange Democratic Movement’s decision to work with President William Ruto’s administration, saying the move was driven by the late Raila Odinga’s desire to prevent bloodshed and safeguard national unity.
Oburu said leaders allied to Raila remain committed to the broad-based government and are working towards forming a strong political coalition ahead of the next General Election.
The senator dismissed suggestions that recent political setbacks had weakened the alliance, saying it remained focused on its long-term objectives.
“We are working together in the broad-based government. We are hoping that as we move on, by next year, we shall have formed a strong coalition which shall fight the others. We were left in the broad-based government by our late brother Raila Odinga, and we have not moved out of there,” he said.
“We are not shaken by small hiccups in elections like the one in Ol Kalou. We are moving steadily because we know who our enemy is and who our friend is.”
He said Raila’s lifelong struggle for democracy was founded on peaceful political engagement and not violence.
“Raila fought for democracy to the last end, that democracy did not include bloodshed. What we do not want is bloodshed. We don’t want incitement and division based on tribes. We want a united Kenya,” he said.
Oburu urged politicians to embrace issue-based politics instead of regional divisions, saying every Kenyan deserves equal treatment regardless of where they come from.
“If you have better ideas to move Kenya forward, don’t go and collect yourself in a corner and say we are the mountain. The mountain is on earth here, like everything else. All Kenyans are equal, and they deserve to be served equally,” he said.
The senator maintained that Raila’s decision to work with President Ruto was motivated by patriotism and the need to protect the country from instability.
“We don’t want bloodshed. My brother Raila did not want bloodshed, and that is why we came to Ruto. We are working together because of the love for Kenya that my brother had for this country. He did not want this country to go down,” he said.
Oburu added that he would continue championing the ideals of social democracy espoused by his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and his late brother, Raila Odinga.
“We shall continue to preach the social democracy on which our party is based, on the ideas of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Raila Odinga. This is now Oburu Odinga following in the footsteps of my predecessors. We move on whether the shoes are big or not. I have also made mine, so we walk,” he said.