Winnie Odinga has publicly declared her intention to contest the Nairobi County Senate seat in the 2027 General Election, saying she will pursue the political ambition alongside young people seeking elective positions across the country.
“Let it not be a rumour. I will contest for the Senate seat in Nairobi County, but I will not go there alone. I am going with the young people,” Winnie declared.
She made the announcement on Thursday, October 15, during the first anniversary commemoration of the late former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga, which also coincided with the birthday of her uncle, Dr Oburu Oginga.
Winnie said her political ambition would extend beyond securing a Senate seat, urging young Kenyans to prepare to contest for various elective positions, including governor, Member of Parliament (MP), Member of County Assembly (MCA) and senator.
“I am not going there alone. I want young people across the country to prepare,” she said, calling on the youth to take a more active role in shaping the country's political leadership.
Her declaration comes as Nairobi politics begins to take shape ahead of the 2027 General Election, with different political figures positioning themselves for key elective seats. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has also been associated with the Linda Mwananchi movement, which has attracted attention amid discussions about the country's political future.
Beyond politics, Winnie delivered an emotional tribute to her late father, reflecting on the pain of losing him on October 15, 2025, while he was receiving treatment in India.
Addressing questions about her next political steps, she said grief had taken longer than she initially expected and that she needed time to mourn before returning to public life.
“I have seen your questions, I've heard them, and I've read them, and I understand the direction you want to know I intend to take. I thought I would just take one month to grieve and then return, but grief does not read the calendar. There were days when I had words, but I didn't have the strength to say them. There were days I simply needed to grieve,” she said.
In a deeply personal moment, Winnie addressed her father directly, expressing the love she wished she had told him before his death.
“Dad, let me begin with something that I should have told you last year: I love you,” she said.
She challenged Kenyans to reflect on what they would tell Raila if he were alive today and asked what had been achieved in his absence.
“If Baba could still be alive today and he asked, ‘In the one year that I've been away, what would you tell him?’ Would we tell him how many positions we negotiated? How many photographs we took? How many times we used his name? Or would we show him people whose lives became better because we remembered what he stood for?” she posed.
Winnie said her father's legacy should be measured not by political negotiations, photographs or the continued use of his name, but by the tangible improvements his ideas brought to the lives of ordinary Kenyans.
She lamented the growing despair among citizens struggling to secure employment, establish businesses and meet the rising cost of living despite their efforts.
“But today, people have given up hope. Being educated, sending applications, following up, opening businesses, getting into debt, working several jobs, voting, waiting and still hoping. But life is difficult,” she said.
She added that one of the most painful realities was seeing people work long hours without earning enough to meet their families' basic needs.
“It hurts me the most seeing a person working from morning till night and still having to choose between rent and school fees, food and medicine,” she said.
According to Winnie, Raila's vision was a country where hard work offered people a genuine opportunity to succeed, families could access medical treatment without depending on public fundraising, and farmers received timely payments to support their households.
She also highlighted the plight of families in marginalised areas, including Turkana, who struggle to access essential medical services and are sometimes forced to seek financial assistance to meet hospital bills.
Winnie urged Kenyans to honour Raila's memory by ensuring that his ideals translated into practical solutions to the challenges facing citizens.
As she sets her sights on the Nairobi Senate seat, her appeal to young people signals an ambition to make youth participation a central part of her political agenda ahead of the 2027 General Election.
