As the echoes of eulogies faded at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Bondo, Siaya County, on October 19, 2025, Kenya’s political landscape bore the weight of an unfinished conversation.

The state funeral of former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, affectionately known as Baba, had unfolded with military precision and emotional rawness, blending Luo traditions with national honours.

Yet beneath the solemnity, a rift cracked open within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), his political fortress for two decades. Leaders who once marched in lockstep under Raila’s shadow now clashed publicly over his “last words,” interpreting his final directives as mandates for either unwavering alliance with President William Ruto’s administration or fierce preparation for the 2027 elections.

This schism, erupting on the very day Kenya laid Baba to rest, threatens to unravel the party he built as a bulwark against authoritarianism.

A funeral steeped in symbolism

The funeral itself was a tapestry of grief and grandeur, a fitting send-off for a man who had danced with power and peril across six decades. Raila’s flag-draped casket arrived at Kang’o Ka Jaramogi, his ancestral home, amid ululations that pierced the humid air.

Elite Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) buglers from the Presidential Escort Regiment sounded “The Last Post,” the haunting trumpet call rooted in British military lore that signals the end of a soldier’s watch. In Kenya’s state funerals, it honors the fallen’s final duty, a poignant emblem for Raila, whose life was a ceaseless vigil for democracy.

Thunder followed melody: a 17-gun salute erupted from KDF artillery, each volley a thunderclap acknowledging Raila’s rank as retired prime minister, his five presidential bids, and his pan-African stature.

This ritual, denied to his father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in 1994, now rectified a historical slight, booming across the Nyanza plains as if to declare, “Baba’s service endures.” Capping the honors, Kenya Air Force jets sliced the sky in a “missing man” formation, one aircraft peeling away from the V, symbolising Raila’s ascent, while the rest pressed on below.

These rites transformed raw sorrow into reverence, reminding thousands gathered, from President Ruto to barefoot villagers—that while Raila rested, his vision of equity and unity demanded action.

Two narratives, one legacy

But action, it seemed, meant different things to ODM’s stewards. Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, ODM’s National Chairperson, invoked Raila’s burial of Dr. Phoebe Asiyo, quoting him verbatim: “Us we follow Baba, when he says left we go left, when he says right we go right, when he says fire we say fire.” To Wanga, Raila’s “last standing instruction” was clear: embed ODM in Ruto’s broad-based government for “the stability and unity of the nation.”

Not everyone bowed to this narrative. ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna rose defiantly, recounting Raila’s September 22, 2025, speech to MPs at a Nairobi hotel: “Raila aliongea wazi mbele ya nchi nzima, tarehe 22, mwezi uliopita, mbele ya hawa wabunge katika hoteli pale Nairobi, Baba aliongea kwa kinywa chake yeye mwenyewe, naomba viongozi msiingize maneno kwa mtu ambaye amelala, Baba alisema mwenyewe, akasema kama chama lazima tujiandae kwa ajili ya uchaguzi wa 2027.”

He urged ODM members to heed the electorate, stating, “Raila used to listen to wananchi, na mimi nataka kuencourage wanachama wa ODM, sisi viongozi sasa tunyamaze kidogo tuwaskize nyinyi mnasema nini, nyinyi mtuambie mnataka sisi tufanye nini na chama cha Baba Raila Odinga.” “Kwa hivyo sisi tutafuata the last standing instruction ya Raila,” he concluded, emphasising electoral preparedness.

Sifuna’s words found both allies and critics. Kisii Governor Simba Arati declared, “Even though Baba (Raila Odinga) has passed, his vision awakens us. The party will not sleep. ODM has just begun its struggle, and I want to assure members that the party will not die. We must win the 2027 election as a united party.” Deputy Leader Godfrey Osotsi added, “The party will first take time to mourn before engaging constructively internally. Afterwards, it will regroup and continue to stand strong as a united political party in Kenya, carrying forward Baba’s vision.”

Rift at the core

The pro-Ruto camp within ODM swelled with endorsements. Treasury CS John Mbadi underscored Luo inclusion: “Raila showed us the direction. He wanted the community to be in government. We will be in a broad-based government.”

Governor Abdulswamad Nassir added, “In 2027, ODM will not be in the opposition. Two things will happen: in August we vote, and by September we are either in government or we are the government.” Mining CS Hassan Joho warned against division: “Anyone attempting to divide or weaken ODM in the name of unity would face expulsion, emphasising that the party is here to stay.”

The funeral harmony shattered hours later online. Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei branded Sifuna a “mole,” writing: “The entire ODM leadership except Sifuna have confirmed that Baba Raila Odinga instructed them to stay & work with President Ruto administration under Broadbased government.” He added: “The biggest threat to growth of ODM to be in government or to form government in FUTURE is Sifuna & company by the end of this year 2025 he MUST be removed from ODM as the secretary General. He is the mole of united opposition in ODM.”

Who speaks truth about Baba? Raila’s September address explicitly toggled election preparation with broad-based participation, a dual-track strategy. Ruth Odinga later revealed his final whisper: “What you said about our party, that it must remain; you told me that at 8 am the day before you passed on… ODM must unite, we cannot have one ODM here, another one there.”

As ODM mourns, the split risks eclipsing his light. For now, Kenyans watch, wondering if Baba’s children will heed his true last lesson: listen to the wananchi, or perish in echo chambers.