Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has broken his silence on growing wrangles within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), urging party members to return to the founding ideals that shaped the movement.
In a strongly worded reflection on the party’s future, Nyong’o warned that internal disputes risk weakening a political movement that was built on the struggle for justice, constitutional reform, and national unity.
“I write not merely as a commentator on history, but as one who stood at the birth of this movement – the Orange Democratic Movement,” Nyong’o said. “At such a moment, silence would itself be a betrayal of history.”
Nyong’o, who served as ODM’s pioneer Secretary General, said the party was never created for political convenience but for a historic mission to transform Kenya’s democracy.
Tribute to Raila Odinga’s Nationalist Leadership
The governor also paid tribute to ODM’s founding leader, Raila Odinga, describing him as a nationalist who believed in building a united Kenya founded on justice rather than ethnic arithmetic.
“Raila Odinga was not simply a politician; he was a nationalist in the truest sense,” Nyong’o said. “He believed Kenya must be united not by the arithmetic of tribes, but by the architecture of justice.”
Nyong’o said Odinga consistently rejected transactional politics that often dominate leadership contests.
“He never surrendered to the crude mathematics of power-balancing that reduces leadership into mere transactions,” he added.
According to Nyong’o, the sacrifices made by reform leaders like Odinga serve as a reminder of the cost of defending democratic ideals.
“The cost of being a nationalist in Kenya is never small. It is paid in detention cells, in exile, in ridicule, in betrayal, and sometimes in lonely hospital rooms far from home,” he said.
How the 2005 Referendum Gave Birth to ODM
Nyong’o traced the roots of ODM to the historic 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum, when Kenyans rejected a proposed constitution that many believed preserved excessive presidential authority.
He said the Orange symbol emerged as a powerful statement of resistance.
“The Orange symbol became a historic refusal – a refusal to constitutional deception, a refusal to postpone justice to another generation, and a refusal to accept an all-powerful presidency,” Nyong’o said.
At the time, he noted, Kenya faced a troubling paradox where multiparty democracy existed in form but not in substance.
“Power had changed hands, but not character,” Nyong’o said. “The presidency remained an imperial centre clothed in reformist language yet resistant to real accountability.”
He argued that systemic corruption, poverty and exclusion made constitutional reform inevitable.
Ethnicity Must Not Define Kenya’s Politics
Nyong’o acknowledged that ethnicity remains an undeniable reality in Kenyan society but warned against allowing it to dominate political competition.
“We are all born into one ethnic community or another. We speak our mother tongues and celebrate our cultures,” he said.
However, he insisted that political leadership must rise above ethnic mobilisation.
“While ethnicity is an objective reality, it must never become our political destiny,” Nyong’o said.
He emphasised that the Kenyan state belongs equally to all citizens regardless of which coalition controls the presidency.
“Nationalism is not the denial of ethnicity but its subordination to constitutionalism,” he said. “The Republic cannot belong to whichever ethnic coalition temporarily captures power.”
The 2010 Constitution Changed Kenya’s Power Structure
Nyong’o said one of ODM’s greatest achievements was helping push for the adoption of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which fundamentally restructured governance in Kenya.
The Constitution dispersed power away from the presidency, strengthened independent institutions and entrenched devolution.
“Devolution was democratic engineering, not decoration,” Nyong’o said. “It ensured no single office, individual, or ethnic coalition could monopolise the destiny of the Republic.”
However, he warned that democracy must be defended continuously.
“Democratisation is never an event; it is a process,” Nyong’o said. “Every generation must defend the Constitution.”
Time for ODM to Reflect at 20
As ODM marks two decades since its formation, Nyong’o said the party must confront difficult questions about whether it has fulfilled its founding mission.
“At 20, ODM must ask uncomfortable questions,” he said. “Have we dismantled the over-centralised Executive? Have we eradicated corruption? Has devolution worked for every village?”
While acknowledging progress in protecting civil liberties and democratic institutions, he said several challenges remain.
“Economic inequality persists. Youth unemployment remains high. Political competition sometimes slides into ethnic arithmetic,” Nyong’o said.
He warned that political movements decline when they lose sight of their original purpose.
“Movements decline not when they are defeated, but when they forget why they were formed,” he said.
Generational Debate Should Strengthen the Party
Nyong’o also addressed the ongoing generational debate within ODM, saying leadership competition should strengthen rather than weaken the movement.
“Internal competition is vitality, not decay,” he said. “A movement that cannot debate cannot think.”
He urged younger leaders to study the movement’s history while encouraging senior leaders to guide the next generation.
“Wisdom must meet energy; experience must embrace innovation,” Nyong’o said.
ODM Must Remain the Conscience of the Republic
Nyong’o warned that abandoning the reformist values that defined ODM’s birth would weaken the party’s identity.
“If we abandon the moral vocabulary of reform, we become indistinguishable from those we once opposed,” he cautioned.
He said the party must continue defending democracy, strengthening devolution and promoting social justice.
“ODM must remain the conscience of the Republic,” he said.
The Road Ahead
Looking ahead, Nyong’o said the next phase of ODM’s journey must focus on deepening economic justice, protecting democratic institutions and strengthening devolution.
“ODM is not a monument to 2005,” he said. “It is a movement for tomorrow.”
He urged party members to return to the principles that inspired the movement’s birth.
“Let us return to first principles: transparency without fear, constitutionalism without compromise, and democratisation as a permanent struggle,” Nyong’o said.
Quoting an African proverb, he concluded:
“However long the night, the dawn will break. But dawn breaks not for those who sleep – it breaks for those who keep vigil.”
According to Nyong’o, the future of ODM will depend on whether the party remains faithful to the ideals that shaped its founding.
“Twenty years ago an orange became a symbol of defiance,” he said. “Today it must remain the symbol of conscience.”
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