ODM leaders should leave Ida to mourn her husband in peace

Mama Ida Odinga. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

A year after Raila Odinga passed on, the fear that once shielded his family is gone. Some politicians in the ODM party are now climbing over his grave to settle scores, and a widow is left to defend her grief in public.

Treasury CS John Mbadi provided the clearest rupture. When Mama Ida Odinga criticised leaders who boycotted her husband's first anniversary in Bondo, he warned: "Do not provoke us," accusing her of entitlement. Mr Mbadi’s argument that loyalty to Raila is non-transferable misses the point. Ida asked for no position and no loyalty. She asked for decency.

Suna East MP Junet Mohamed and ODM communications director Philip Etale boycotted the memorial at Migwena because Ida had invited former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Junet said he could not sit with a man Raila had cautioned against. Etale called it betrayal. When did a widow's guest list become a test of party loyalty?

Do not blame Mama Ida. Blame the national steering committee team. Otiende Amollo and Adams Oloo were in charge of the first anniversary, and any shortcomings should be laid at their door, not Ida’s.

As the imbroglio spiralled, the most ideological jab came from Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai, who asked how a taxpayer-funded party could be treated as family inheritance and linked Ida to Winnie Odinga's declared Nairobi Senate bid. It was a low blow. Ida holds no ODM office. Her only role is ambassador to UNEP, a diplomatic assignment, not a throne.

Let us be plain. Ida is the pained one. She lost her husband. Let others not mourn more than the bereaved.

Scripture says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" - Matthew 5:4. There is no footnote that says except when politicians have a rally. Wanga, Mbadi and Junet should remember: This was not Madaraka Day. It was not a wedding or fundraiser.

It was a solemn memorial. A moment to reflect, pray and honour a man who gave his life for Kenya's second liberation. It was not about Ruto, Sifuna or Orengo. It was not about who was closer to Raila or who is closer to Ruto. ODM as a party, the Odinga family, Raila's passing, the broad-based government and Ruto's re-election bid are separate matters. To conflate them is dishonest.

And why this fixation on Gachagua? Ida has never been seen in public with him. That invitation card that trended online bears the marks of fabrication - a fake designed to paint Ida as anti-Ruto and wedge the family from State House. Even if Gachagua had been invited, what sin would that be? He missed Raila's funeral last year because the political temperature was too high.

Differences are normal in politics. Mourning has no formula. It is sacred. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:18. When you point fingers at a widow in sackcloth, you are not doing politics. You violate African custom and Christian principle. "Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless." - Proverbs 23:10.

It is unfair that the men Raila nurtured have turned the axe on his wife. If you truly loved the tree, why hate its branches? You cannot claim to love the trunk and then burn the branches. That love was transactional, not genuine.

Remember who Raila was. The most forgiving soul Kenya has produced. He dined with his jailers. Like Mandela, he lived the Sermon on the Mount: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:44. And remember who Ida is. A teacher, a mother, a wife who kept the home when her husband was in detention, in exile, on the trail. She has lived politics. She needs no lectures from latecomers.

Since the anniversary, bloggers — some reportedly funded — have been deployed to dim Ida's light, brand her meddling and silence her moral voice in ODM. It is in bad taste.

A divided ODM damages Raila's legacy, Luo unity and the respect our culture accords widows. It does not help Ruto in Nyanza. Why use Gachagua as a test for loyalty? Why drag Ida into a contest she never joined?

Leave Ida alone. Let her mourn as she knows best. Some widows weep quietly, others pray loudly, others forgive what others would not, because forgiveness heals. Who are we to dictate her grief?"

To everything there is a season, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance" — Ecclesiastes 3:1-4.

This is her season to mourn. If you loved Raila, honour his house. If you respected him, protect his widow. Anything less is betrayal.

Mr Nyaringo is a Kenyan public affairs commentator based in Washington, USA