The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has vehemently denied claims that its leader, Raila Odinga, is considering retiring after a 17-year stint at the helm of the party.
This is in response to an article by the Daily Nation that indicated Raila was contemplating forfeiting his position at the opposition outfit to focus more on elder statesmanship and mentorship roles.
However, in a statement on Thursday, September 5, ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna said the media report was in bad faith and aimed to incite nonexistent rivalries for Raila’s position.
Sifuna said that despite Raila ditching local politics to focus on his African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship bid, he still remains the leader of the party.
He insisted that neither the ODM nor Raila himself had announced his resignation from the outfit.
"Several times Raila Odinga has informed the country that he will be presenting himself for election to the position of chairman of the African Union Commission during elections to be held in February 2025. As matters stand now, neither Mr. Odinga nor the Orange Democratic Movement has announced his exit and retirement from party leadership.We therefore see no reason whatsoever for the Daily Nation to come up with a screaming headline announcing Mr. Odinga's retirement, complete with an incoherent purported analysis of his life and times as leader of ODM," said Sifuna.Sifuna asked the party’s supporters to take careful note of the paper’s intentions and “treat the publication with the contempt it deserves.”
He asked the publication to issue a clarification stating that the story published has no basis.
