President Ruto to Bury ODM: The Chessmaster's Final Move

 

By Benson Akumu – Political Activist & Commentator

In the grand theatre of Kenyan politics, where leaders preach water by day and sip wine by night, few have mastered the art of political hypocrisy quite like Raila Odinga. Draped in the garb of democracy, he has long portrayed himself as a reformist—a champion of justice and national rebirth. But beneath the slogans and street theatrics lies a legacy soaked in contradiction.

Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), once hailed as a symbol of change, has become a sanctuary of dictatorship. Behind the chants of liberation and democratic ideals, ODM has quietly evolved into a vehicle of centralised power, where dissent is punished, voices are muted, and loyalty is rewarded—not through principle, but through proximity to power.

President William Ruto, Kenya’s ultimate political chessmaster, is poised to bury what’s left of ODM—not through brute force, but through strategy. He has watched, learned, and now acts with precision. While Raila sermonises about decorum, civility, and mutual respect, his record tells a different story: a man who helped create the very system he now claims to oppose.

From the infamous handshake politics to backroom deals, Raila blurred the lines between opposition and government, weakening the very foundation of Kenya’s democratic checks and balances. ODM, under his leadership, ceased to be an instrument of opposition and transformed into an echo chamber of patronage.

Parliament, once a house of deliberation, now functions more like a theatre of rubber stamps. Under Raila’s influence, it has become a den of political survivalists like Junet Mohammed, Jared Okello, Millie Odhiambo, and Peter Kaluma—loudmouths in democratic attires parroting the leader’s contradictions. One day, "Ruto must go"; the next, "Ruto is Kenya’s best president." This political doublethink has been the ODM playbook since the late '90s.

Raila Odinga is not the victim of Kenya’s broken system—he is one of its principal architects. A democrat that never was. A liberator who found comfort in the very throne he once claimed to resist.

Now, President Ruto, with his quiet and calculated moves, is set to dismantle what remains of ODM—exposing its contradictions, exploiting its fractures, and leaving Raila's political machinery as a relic of its own deception.

In the shadows of ODM’s demise, the dream of a truly democratic Kenya gasps for air. And as history watches, one thing becomes clear: the battle for Kenya’s soul is not between government and opposition, but between authenticity and hypocrisy.

April 19, 2025