In the same breath, Oburu revealed previously undisclosed details about the internal succession politics that preceded Orengo’s rise to the Siaya governorship, exposing deepening fault lines within the party’s top leadership.
Speaking in a moment that has since reverberated across ODM ranks, Oburu disclosed that his original preference for the Siaya governor’s seat was current Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi.
According to Oburu, he believed Wandayi possessed the political alignment and administrative temperament suited to steer the county.
However, he said the late Raila Odinga personally intervened and persuaded him to allow James Orengo to contest for the position instead, a decision Oburu now appears to regret or, at the very least, question openly.
The remarks suggest simmering tensions that have been brewing beneath the surface since ODM’s internal power balance began shifting following Raila Odinga’s death.
Orengo, a seasoned politician and respected constitutional lawyer, has often projected an image of independence and ideological rigidity, occasionally taking positions that diverge from the party’s dominant tone.
Oburu’s dare for Orengo to “rebel” can therefore be read as both a challenge and a provocation—an assertion of authority aimed at testing the governor’s loyalty to party leadership.
By revisiting the circumstances of Orengo’s nomination, Oburu effectively reframed the governor’s political legitimacy as a product of party concession rather than organic inevitability.
Such statements carry weight in a party like ODM, where historical loyalty, internal discipline, and the Odinga family’s influence have long shaped political trajectories.
The implication is clear: Governor James Orengo’s ascent was not solely a personal victory, but one enabled by internal compromise and persuasion from the party’s highest authority at the time.
The public nature of Oburu’s remarks is particularly significant. ODM has traditionally managed internal disagreements behind closed doors, prioritising unity in public.
This departure from that norm signals a party grappling with leadership recalibration in the absence of its longtime patriarch.