Raila Odinga was absent from the Mombasa stage on Friday, but his presence was impossible to miss.
The seat next to Governor Abdulswamad Nassir stood empty, carrying Raila’s iconic fedora hat and ODM scarf as supporters gathered to mark one year since the former Prime Minister’s death.
The image symbolized the political space Raila once occupied in ODM. Nassir, one of his deputies in the party, sat beside the empty seat as Raila Junior delivered a warning to young ODM supporters considering alternative political homes.
“Baba alituacha ndani ya ODM sisi kama vijana,” Junior said, urging them to remain in the party. He cautioned those attracted to new formations by their political appeal.
“Si chochote kinachong’aa ni dhahabu,” he said, warning that those who rush elsewhere could discover they had been deceived.
“Na hivyo ndivyo watanyolewa kisiasa,” Junior added.
The remarks came as ODM launched Mwezi wa Baba, a month-long programme marking the first anniversary of Raila’s death. In Mombasa, however, the empty seat beside Nassir became the defining image, a silent reminder of Raila’s absence from the party he built and led for years.
