ODM Party Leader Oburu Oginga at Lake Naivasha Resort during a broad-based Government retreat on August 10, 2026. He is back in the country after a three-week stay in the UK for medical attention.

📋 Breaking It Down

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Dr Oburu Oginga is back in the country after a three-week stay in the United Kingdom for medical attention.

He returns to a busy political and party calendar that will place him at the centre of events marking the first anniversary of the death of his younger brother, Raila Odinga.

Dr Oginga returned to the country last Friday, September 25, with the party announcing his return the following day and saying the Siaya Senator was ready to resume his responsibilities.

📌 What You Need to Know

His return comes at a critical moment for ODM which has lined up a month-long programme to honour Raila, its founding leader, as it navigates a changed political landscape following his death in India on October 15, 2025.

Dubbed “Mwezi wa Baba”, the programme will begin on Friday, October 2, with a nationwide candle-lighting ceremony and include rallies and memorial activities in different parts of the country before culminating in Nairobi on October 31.

Dr Oginga therefore returns to a party preparing for one of its most politically significant periods since Raila's death.

During his absence, ODM has operated under the stewardship of National Chairperson Gladys Wanga, who has led a series of activities, including mobilisation in the Maa community and Nyanza.

His absence was particularly conspicuous during President William Ruto's recent five-day tour of Nyanza, where Ms Wanga and other senior ODM officials accompanied the President and openly backed the broad-based government arrangement.

The tour provided a snapshot of the political direction taken by a section of ODM under Dr Oginga's leadership since Raila's death.

📰 Source: Nation Africa