Raila Odinga is dead, but his ghost is seemingly being torn apart by the very people who claimed to love him. In the three months since the Enigma’s passing, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has descended into a macabre spectacle of succession politics, where self-proclaimed "heirs" are trading insults over his fresh grave.

They are the "Raila Orphans"—politicians who built their careers on the coattails of the Agwambo. Now, exposed to the harsh elements of political orphanhood, they are panicking. From David Ndii’s brutal assessment that "political capital is buried with the big man" to Siaya Governor James Orengo’s stern warning against "false spokespersons," the party is cannibalizing itself.

The Illusion of Inheritance

David Ndii, the President’s economic advisor and a former NASA strategist, struck a nerve with a tweet that read like an obituary for the opposition: "The political orphans have no inheritance. He is the party; the party is him." It was a cold, hard truth. Raila’s charisma was not a family heirloom; it was a personal force of nature. It cannot be bequeathed to a Winnie, a Junior, or a Kalonzo.

"They are riding on death's back," writes columnist Sarah Elderkin. "Everyone claims to know what Baba wanted. 'Baba would have wanted me to be President.' 'Baba would have wanted us to join Ruto.' It is a lie. They are using his memory as a shield for their own ambition."

The Factions Emerge

The party has fractured into three distinct camps:

• The Conformists: Led by the likes of Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya (now in Cabinet), who argue that Raila’s "Handshake" legacy means working with Ruto. They are trading opposition for position.
• The Fundamentalists: Led by Orengo and Otiende Amollo, who insist on keeping the fire of resistance burning. They view any deal with Ruto as sacrilege.
• The Family: The Odinga family itself, now led by Oburu Oginga and Winnie Odinga, trying to hold onto the "royal" claim to the throne. But as history shows (look at the Moil and Kenyatta parties), dynasties fade quickly without the patriarch.

Raila Odinga must be turning in his grave. The movement he built to liberate Kenya is now consumed with liberating itself from irrelevance. The orphans are wailing, but the country is moving on. The lesson is harsh but simple: in politics, there are no heirs, only survivors.