{"id":7234,"date":"2026-01-06T13:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7234\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T13:31:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T13:31:08","slug":"madzayo-urges-odm-to-resolve-internal-disputes-to-protect-railas-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/7234\/","title":{"rendered":"Madzayo urges ODM to resolve internal disputes to protect Raila\u2019s legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senate Minority Leader and Kilifi County Senator Stewart Madzayo during a past meeting\/FILE<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader and Kilifi County Senator Stewart Madzayo
\nhas called for a candid internal dialogue within the ODM party to
\naddress the ongoing disagreements that have disrupted the party.<\/p>\n

Madzayo warned that failure to act could tarnish the party\u2019s
\nimage, weaken its cohesion, and create space for intolerance and
\npolitical violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless urgent action is taken, we risk heading into 2027 with
\nheightened tensions, intolerance and violence that could undermine
\nfree and fair elections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Madzayo, whose remarks come barely three months after the passing
\nof ODM leader Raila Odinga, said the disputes threaten to erode the
\nlegacy of the late leader, whose vision and restraint kept the party
\nunited for over 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cODM is bigger than any individual. Baba Raila supported dissent
\nand debate, but he never allowed disagreement to break the party. We
\nowe him the respect of maintaining the culture of dialogue and
\ninternal resolution he built,\u201d Madzayo said.<\/p>\n

The Kilifi Senator who was addressing the press in Nairobi
\nemphasised that public spats, particularly among senior party
\nofficials, are eroding public trust and harming ODM\u2019s dominance in
\nkey regions. \n<\/p>\n

He urged party members to channel grievances through established
\nstructures rather than resorting to expulsion, public insults or
\nthreats as such was not the answer.<\/p>\n

Madzayo said the party must reinforce its organs, uphold
\ndiscipline, and recommit to internal democracy to ensure that ODM
\nremains a progressive, inclusive, and principled movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnchecked public exchanges, mudslinging and verbal slurs are
\nweakening cohesion and creating space for violence. The greatest
\nhonour we can give Baba Raila is to protect his legacy, not tear it
\ndown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cODM was never built to silence voices. It has the widest
\nnational footprint, the deepest grassroots structures, and the most
\nconsistent electoral base across multiple regions. When ODM speaks,
\nthe country listens, and when it stumbles, the impact is felt
\nnationally. That stature comes with responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Kilifi Senator further emphasised that the greatest tribute to
\nthe late Raila is to protect his legacy by reinforcing the principles
\nof dialogue, tolerance, and internal democracy, rather than allowing
\npersonal disagreements to divide the party.<\/p>\n

He urged all ODM members to embrace open, honest, and mature
\nengagement within party structures, ensuring grievances are addressed
\nconstructively rather than weaponised publicly.<\/p>\n

According to Madzayo, such an approach will help the party
\nmaintain its cohesion, strengthen its national influence, and
\nsafeguard Kenya\u2019s democratic process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Senate Minority Leader and Kilifi County Senator Stewart Madzayo during a past meeting\/FILE Senate Minority Leader and Kilifi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1221,80,5149,2204,1223,1222,98,100,101,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-7234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-junet","9":"tag-kenya","10":"tag-mwadzayo","11":"tag-odm","12":"tag-raila","13":"tag-sifuna","14":"tag-star-news","15":"tag-star-news-kenya","16":"tag-the-star","17":"tag-the-star-newspaper"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}