NAIROBI — It was a message delivered not with the thunderous crescendo of a political rally, but with the measured, somber weight of a patriarch stepping into a void that still feels impossible to fill.

Dr. Oburu Odinga, now the ODM Party Leader following the seismic events of October 2025, ushered in the New Year with a stirring call for resilience. Addressing a base still reeling from the death of his brother, Raila Odinga, and the stinging defeat in the African Union Commission (AUC) elections earlier in the year, Oburu did not mince words: 2025 was a crucible of fire.

“The year 2025 has tried our strength as a people,” Oburu said in a statement released to newsrooms on Wednesday. “Yet, time and again, Kenyans proved that our strength lies in our unity, our hard work, and our unbreakable hope for a better tomorrow.”

A Party at the Crossroads

The Senator’s address comes at a fragile moment for the Orange Democratic Movement. The opposition outfit is currently navigating a treacherous transition, with fissures emerging between the ‘old guard’ and youthful firebrands like Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.

Oburu acknowledged the internal jitters but framed them as the growing pains of a movement evolving beyond its founder. He explicitly warned against the centrifugal forces threatening to tear the party apart just two years shy of the 2027 General Election.

• The Unity Plea: “The year ahead calls upon us to reject division and embrace dialogue,” Oburu noted, a clear nod to the public spats between party factions.
• The 2027 Roadmap: He promised a “clear political direction” by mid-2026, assuring supporters that the party would not enter the next election cycle blind.
• The Legacy: “That responsibility [of leadership] has not defeated me. I am holding that mantle firmly,” he asserted, dispelling rumors of a leadership vacuum.

The ‘Kenyan Lens’: Survival First

Beyond politics, Oburu pivoted to the bread-and-butter issues squeezing the average Kenyan household. With the cost of living remaining stubbornly high, he criticized the current administration’s economic policies, noting that “unity is meaningless if the plate is empty.”

He highlighted the plight of farmers and the unemployed youth—demographics that formed the bedrock of Raila’s support base. “We envision a Kenya where farmers earn fair returns and where jobs are created through innovation, not just rhetoric,” he emphasized.

The Shadow of Addis Ababa

The Senator also touched on the diplomatic heartbreak of February 2025, when Raila Odinga lost the AUC Chairmanship to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in a tense vote in Addis Ababa. That loss, followed by Raila’s passing months later, marked the end of an era for Pan-Africanism from a Kenyan perspective.

Yet, Oburu insisted that the “spirit of the struggle” did not die in Addis, nor was it buried in Bondo. “We fell, but we did not break,” he said. “The dream of a Kenya that works for all—not just the chosen few—remains our guiding star.”

As the political drums for 2027 begin to beat, all eyes will be on Dr. Oburu. Can he hold the center together, or will the Orange party unravel without the magnetic force of the Enigma? For now, his message is clear: The mourning period is over; the work of rebuilding begins.