Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's sister Ruth Odinga now says that she has all it takes to run for presidency under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party ticket in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Wednesday, November 12, during an interview, the Kisumu Woman Representative exuded confidence in competing against President William Ruto in the next elections.
According to her, while she initially expressed interest in vying for the Kisumu gubernatorial seat, nothing stops her from running for the presidency in 2027.
"Some have already declared interest in running for the Kisumu Governorship in 2027. I invite them to join me in this pursuit to ensure we go beyond the traditional strongholds of the ODM party," Ruth said.
She went on to add, "And nothing stops me from contesting for the presidency. I have all it takes to run for the country’s top political seat."
Despite expressing interest in various political seats, she, however, insisted that her priority was to stabilise the ODM party before embarking on her political ambitions.
During the interview, Ruth also took a swipe at some ODM party members led by Alego Usonga MP Sam Atandi and his Uriri counterpart Mark Nyamita, whom she accused of orchestrating division within the party.
She criticised the two leaders for allegedly promoting the controversial 'orphan' tag, a term she dismissed, maintaining that, despite Raila's death, the term appeared to be politically unethical.
According to Ruth, while every leader is entitled to their opinion, she had never seen a member of the Luo ethnic community proudly branding themselves as an orphan.
"This is not the first time we have lost a leader as a community. We have lost leaders before. When a leader goes down, we expect another one to rise, not recoiling to an orphans' corner," Ruto affirmed.
In the interview, the lawmaker also weighed in on the united opposition led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka.
She downplayed the opposition's political dominance, reiterating the party's initial stand that ODM was still in the broad-based government until the next general elections.
Nonetheless, Ruth speculated on the possibility of Kalonzo joining President William Ruto's camp, leaving Gachagua and Jubilee's Fred Matiang'i fighting for the flag-bearer post in the united opposition.
"You must allow me to reiterate that we as a community are in the broad-based government until 2027, when we will choose which team to work with, as directed by the people," she said.
