Ida Odinga backs Winnie, throws spotlight on youth in Kenya’s shifting politics

Ida Odinga has stepped into Kenya’s political conversation with a message that cuts across generations, power, and succession, reinforcing the growing debate about who truly shapes the country’s political future.

Speaking in support of her daughter, Winnie Odinga, the wife of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, framed the youth not as political spectators but as central players in Kenya’s emerging political order—warning that any new dispensation that sidelines them does so at its own peril.

In a political landscape long dominated by familiar surnames and veteran actors, Ida’s remarks landed as both an endorsement and a challenge.

Her backing of Winnie was not merely maternal; it was ideological. While elevating her daughter’s political voice, Ida positioned Winnie as part of a broader generational push seeking to redefine leadership beyond legacy politics.

“The youth must never be treated as an afterthought in our politics,” Ida said, underscoring that young people carry the largest demographic weight, the greatest stake in governance outcomes, and the energy driving social and political change. Her remarks echo a growing sentiment within Kenya’s civic space that demographic realities can no longer be ignored in elite political calculations.

Kenya is a youthful nation, with the majority of its population under 35. Yet political power has historically been concentrated among older leaders who cut their teeth in the struggles of the 1980s and 1990s.

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While these figures still command influence, recent elections and civic movements have exposed widening cracks in the old political order, driven largely by youth frustration over unemployment, governance failures, and economic inequality.

In backing Winnie, Ida appeared to acknowledge these shifts.

Winnie, who has increasingly spoken on governance, social justice, and youth inclusion, represents a younger political voice within a family synonymous with Kenya’s opposition politics.

Winnie, on Sunday, January 18, 2026, launched a parallel ODM rally in Kamkunji Kibera grounds, dubbed the ODM pressure group, ostensibly to push for the youth agenda.

She said it’s their time and that the wave of young people will sweep the majority votes come the 2027 General Elections.

She strongly advocated for youth rights and democracy.

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