NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 15 — ODM party leader Oburu Oginga has said he will address concerns raised by EALA MP Winnie Odinga over the management of the party’s role in the broad-based government away from public forums.Speaking during the ODM 20th anniversary celebrations in Mombasa on Saturday, Oburu said the matter would be handled quietly and respectfully within the Odinga family.“I want to tell Winnie that we will speak about that in private, at home,” he said.Oburu reaffirmed his lifelong loyalty to the late Raila Odinga, dismissing any suggestion that he could stray from the political direction set by his younger brother.“I have walked with Raila for over 80 years and I have never betrayed him,” he said. “I know there are people who claim they are loyal to Raila, yet at some point they had betrayed him.”He assured party supporters that he would safeguard Raila’s legacy as he guides ODM through its next chapter.“The seat that I have been given — I will take the mantle from where my brother left, to achieve his vision and goal,” he said.Mobilisation Oburu urged ODM members across the country to intensify grassroots mobilisation and strengthen party registration ahead of the 2027 General Election.“I appeal to ODM members to continue registering more members so that we have the numbers to be strong. Politics is numbers,” he said. “Registration is crucial — we must register as voters and as party members.”He added that ODM would assess its political positioning closer to the next election.“Raila left us in the broad-based government. We said that when it gets to 2027, we will decide who we will support or whether we will walk alone when the time comes. We will not cross the bridge before we get there.”Oburu’s remarks followed Winnie’s call for ODM to return to its membership and make a definitive decision about its continued role in President William Ruto’s broad-based government.Winnie Odinga urges ODM to review ‘complicated’ broad-based pact‘Complicated relationship’ Winnie argued that the relationship — previously managed solely by Raila — was “complicated” and must now be guided by a fresh mandate from ODM members.She urged the party to convene a National Delegates Convention (NDC) to determine who should steward ODM’s political direction going forward.Her comments come amid intensifying debate within ODM, where leaders are split between maintaining Raila’s cooperative engagement with President Ruto and reasserting the party’s independence ahead of 2027.Figures including Siaya Governor James Orengo and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna have insisted that ODM must consult its grassroots before taking a firm position.Meanwhile, ODM-aligned Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials maintain that Raila personally instructed them to continue supporting the broad-based government, saying the stance honours his final political wish.With Raila Odinga’s passing, ODM now faces a pivotal moment in its 20-year history — whether to solidify its role in the broad-based government or reestablish itself as the country’s dominant opposition force.Oburu, at the centre of the party’s transition, has pledged to uphold Raila’s legacy while steering ODM through its most defining internal debate yet.