Debate is raging within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) – Kenya’s oldest political party since the advent of multiparty politics after the “second liberation struggle” in the early 1990s.

It is no surprise that the debate revolves around a party stalwart and one among the country’s most accomplished politicians and legal minds, who was deep in the trenches of this struggle – James Orengo.

Nobody across the entire convoluted and often intriguing Kenyan political terrain can doubt Orengo’s incomparable attributes in tackling head-on injustices and authoritarianism.

Since his student leadership role at the University of Nairobi, where he honed his oratorial and protest skills as an exponent of freedom of expression, Orengo has over the years maintained the reputation of a strong voice for the subjugated.

He continued during President Jomo Kenyatta’s era of Kanu one-party rule when political parties were banned, including Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s Kenya Peoples Union, and opponents detained.

Orengo was thrust into the murky world of elective Kenyan politics shortly after Daniel arap Moi became President. Moi continued Kenyatta’s totalitarian tradition, brooking no opposition as he trumped up sedition charges to convict political foes.

Orengo and a group of lawyers and pro-democracy political activists represented these prisoners of conscience while stepping up the fight for multiparty politics known as the “second liberation struggle”.

It culminated in the end of Kanu’s 40-year regime, the dawn of a new era in Kenyan politics and the return of opposition politics that gave birth to the Forum for Democracy (FORD), the mother of all the political parties that have mushroomed in Kenya.

FORD’s founding chairman, Jaramogi, is ODM party leader Raila Odinga’s father. Orengo was very close to Jaramogi. Not even the brief political detour that also involved Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o can diminish the strong bond between Orengo and the Odingas.

This background is necessary for his critics in the context of the current debate simmering within ODM arising from Orengo’s statement during the funeral of Raila’s long-time bodyguard George Oduor.

Not one to be restrained from speaking his mind when he believes that what he is saying is right, Orengo told ODM members in the presence of Raila and President William Ruto they could not afford to be praise-singers for the government.

He said ODM risks being linked to the perceived failures of Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza government following the cooption of key Raila allies, including the former party chairman and minority leader, into the Cabinet.

That the two leaders have not reacted is quite telling, and his critics must be reminded of the millions of citizens and many popular ODM leaders and members who can swear by Orengo’s statement in deed and on the ballot.

Orengo was of course referring to the emergence of a new and strong dynamic in Kenya’s political equation – the Gen Z factor – which arose after the massive publicly supported countrywide protests that rocked Ruto’s government.

It was not until Raila came to the rescue that a semblance of stability was restored. But not before the Gen Z protests had been met with brutality that left many young people shot dead and scores abducted, among other human rights violations.

It was reminiscent of the totalitarian era. The Gen Z have a score to settle with Ruto, Raila has been caught in the crossfire, and Orengo has merely touched a raw nerve.

— The writer comments on political affairs; albertoleny@gmail.com