Alai's Reaction to Wanga's Decision to Replace Raila Odinga's Photo in Campaign Poster Despite Oburu Being The Acting Party Leader

For over a decade, the face of Raila Odinga was a common feature on campaign tools throughout the country-aspirants of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) tucking his picture next to theirs as a badge of loyalty and magnet for his enduring influence. 

His image floating on banners, posters, and fliers-even in the remotest of rural hamlets-became shorthand for a political brand transcending individual candidacies.

Yet a recent episode has stirred a fresh wave of debate: the publication of a photograph of Gladys Wanga intertwined with election-posters labelled "wrong kabisa."

The photo in question, this one used in campaign leaflets alongside Wanga's own image and the campaign mantra for a local candidate, has triggered a stinging rebuke by commentator Robert Alai, who argues that to use Wanga's image in that electoral context was not just inappropriate but fundamentally misguided. 

His criticism tapped into a deeper unease: the optics of identity, patronage, and the projection of legacy in Kenyan politics.

Into this charged moment stepped Oburu Oginga, acting leader of ODM following Odinga’s passing. He clarified, in measured tones, that the party remains anchored to the late leader’s legacy and that public faces serving in government are not automatically party mouthpieces. “Those of us who are in government ,are not speaking for our party,” he insisted.

His remarks suggest an effort to draw a distinction: between the personal cult of symbolism embodied by Odinga’s portrait and the formal structures of party representation. 

In effect, Oburu is signalling that while images and icons may still matter, the party’s messaging and authority must remain disciplined, unified and ahead of optics — for now.