Ida Odinga shamed leaders from the Nyanza region, pushing Azimio La Umoja party leader, Raila Odinga, to retire from active politics after losing the August 9 presidential election to William Ruto.
Speaking in Homa Bay county on Sunday, December 11, Ida called out the leaders for being hypocritical about their loyalty and support for Raila.
She accused some of them of using the former Premier and herself to propel their political ambitions only to abandon him after Ruto was declared president-elect.
Ida claimed that the junior leaders even dared to go after her family, spearheading an anti-Odinga campaign.
“The same politicians would wake up and come to my home for breakfast, lunch and supper and even frequented my office. They pretended to be close to us but now have the guts to insult the Odinga family," she wondered.
Ida fiercely defended her husband from the claims that he bottled the election when all factors would have worked in his favour.
Among her pleas to Nyanza residents was supporting Raila and ignoring the leaders calling for fresh leadership in the region. She cautioned that the leaders seeking to unseat Raila harboured ulterior motives.
According to Ida, a veteran teacher and philanthropist, the leaders allegedly worked in cahoots with President Ruto's Kenya Kwanza to finish her husband's political career.
However, the former Lake Basin Development Authority Chair, Odoyo Owidi, urged Raila to address the intrigues behind the party primaries. Owidi argued that the party nominations exercise contributed to the former Prime Minister's fallout with Nyanza leaders.
"Politicians spent a lot of money in the party, only to be shortchanged at the final hour. The party cannot champions democracy when it is not practising it,” the politician noted.
On October 29, Raila addressed claims that he would step down from politics. He urged his supporters to allow him more time to chart his way forward and would make a big announcement.
"I will peacefully exit the stage when my time to retire comes. Our focus now should be reforming the politics of this country so that democracy may thrive,” Raila stated.
