In the year 2005, the Orange Democratic Movement, ODM was formed. The Political outfit was seen by many as what the Country really needed to help shape it’s leadership and deal with a number of historical and electoral injustices that had affected many Kenyans.
Everything was going well for the Party until August 2007 when it split into the Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya and the Wiper Democratic Movement – Kenya (formerly the Orange Democratic Movement – Kenya, known as ODM–Kenya).
ODM still stood tall and gave Mwai Kibaki’s PNU a run for it’s money in the 2007 General Elections only to have Raila Odinga rigged out. The same “rigged out” theory continued to manifest itself in the next two general elections, in 2013 and 2017.
The Party is however lately a shell of it’s old self as it’s fortunes continue to dwindle as the years go by.
ODM is no longer the vibrant Party we all knew back in 2007, it has become a laughing stock and a place associated with failures.
The Party’s recent dismal performance in the Ugenya and Embakasi South by-elections is a clear indicator that ODM is no longer a political giant.
Leaders who were once allied to the Party have time and again had to jump ship into other Parties so as to secure various political positions in the Country. This has mainly been contributed to by the flawed nomination processes associated by the ODM Party.
The just concluded Wajir West by-election has again made ODM the talk of town. ODM had a candidate in the race only for it to later withdraw in the last minute. Many Political pundits argued that ODM was afraid of another loss in Wajir and as such had to step aside.
Jubilee’s Ahmed Korosh won the Wajir West parliamentary by-election on Friday morning.
The former Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) member got 11,053 votes as his closest rival Sheikh Ibrahim (KANU) came a distant second with 6,532 votes.
This is again another Slap on ODM’s face with the opposition outfit now winless in the last 3 by-elections held in the Country.
The March 9th Handshake also seem to have dealt a major blow to the ODM Party.
That handshake has by all means neutralised the Opposition.
Yet if nothing else, the Opposition owes it to the country to present a viable alternative government in 2022. Sadly, most of the ODM MPs have turned into Jubilee Party apologists and cheerleaders.
ODM should go back to the drawing board and put it’s house in order failure to which it will be completely dead come 2022.