- Raila said ODM will remain intact even with his absence in the country.
- The Opposition leader said he will be available to offer advise to the two whenever needed.
Image: RAILA ODINGA/X
ODM leader Raila Odinga has endorsed his deputies Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya to lead the party should his African Union Commission chairmanship bid succeed.
Raila’s declaration on Thursday during an ODM mobilisation event in Wajir could put to an end to speculations about his possible successor in the party as he eyes the African Union Commission chairperson job.
Reports had said top guns in Raila’s inner circles were split between endorsing Oparanya or Joho as the alternative ODM party leader.
But Raila said he was confident that the two will run the affairs of ODM well in his absence while in Addis Ababa should he win the AU seat.
"They will work together. A party which has a good foundation cannot disintegrate when one person steps aside. A strong party is not about an individual but the entire membership and its leadership,” Raila told party members.
Speaking for the first time openly about his preferred heir, Raila said his exit from local politics should not plummet the party’s rock-solid fortunes build over two decades.
He said he will be available to offer advice to the two whenever needed.
Raila spoke in the presence of Joho and Oparanya who accompanied him to Wajir for the ODM grassroots activities hosted by Governor Ahmed Abdullahi.
“I’m here with Governors (Wycliffe) Oparanya and Ali Hassan Joho. They will come together (to lead ODM). A party with a strong foundation cannot crumble just because one person has left," he said.
"I'm confident that these (two) will continue driving the party agenda even though I’ll be in Addis Ababa. If they want advice, I'm ready. ODM will remain intact,” Raila stated.
Raila called the two on the podium as he instructed them to take charge and steer the party ahead to realising its vision of forming government one day.
Raila’s endorsement of both Joho and Oparanya signal his political tightrope to choose either of the two as his potential successor in a bid not to upset his strongholds.
The two are likely to square it out for the 2027 ODM presidential ticket should Raila succeed in his AU job bid.
Joho said he only wants to inherit Raila’s political ideology, consistency, courage and political might.
He said the former Prime Minister has taught him a lot through the years he has been a politician.
The former Mombasa governor added that he also wants to inherit Raila's sense of direction in terms of leadership.
Joho has emerged from months of perceived political hibernation since Raila’s Azimio party lost the 2022 presidential elections to President William Ruto.
Two weeks ago, Joho declared that he will be running for president in 2027.
“People were telling me that in the next general election, I should vie for a local seat. I want to tell them I'm done with Mombasa politics and I'm now focusing on national politics," Joho said in Raila’s presence.
“Who told you that if you are born in Mombasa you cannot become the president of the Republic of Kenya? I want to make it clear that I will be in the presidential race come 2027."
Raila’s succession race is likely to spill over to next month’s grassroots elections.
Both Joho and Oparanya could push to have their allies installed at strategic positions to bolster their separate presidential ticket hopes.
Oparanya has insisted that he is keen to succeed the ODM boss as party leader if Odinga wins the AU elections next February but through the avenues within the party.
“If he succeeds in his AU bid and may not be available to play local politics, I will ask for the party leadership. I know there could be other people who are also interested,’’ Oparanya said on Thursday.
Speaking during an interview on KTN, the former Kakamega governor said it is not Raila who will decide who succeeds him but the people's vote.
“When Raila leaves, there is no automatic succession. I would want to become his successor but through the normal procedure; people must vote for me to be the successor,” he said.
Raila's open declaration of his preferred successor now throws the spanner in the works over who should be his heir in his Nyanza backyard.
The names of National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi and ODM chairman John Mbadi have popped up as possible Raila successors in Luo Nyanza.