Orange gone bad: Raila's behemoth teetering on the brink of death

ODM leaders during the ODM Special Delegates Convention at Jamhuri Grounds, Nairobi on March 27,2026.[Elvis Ogina, Standard]

It may be too soon to write the obituary of Raila Odinga’s party, yet the dynamics tease us with the possibility that the moment is close. For there was a time when the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) did not have to explain itself. Not anymore. 

Raila’s party stood for something. Even in the seasons when it was imperfect or even inconsistent, there was little doubt that it professed belief in something. Even when it did not always demonstrate that belief, it still knew that it had one.