Raila in Germany: ODM Rally to be Held in Frankfurt This Saturday

Head of opposition and former prime Minister, Raila Odinga, will be in Germany this weekend joined by other Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party members, 60 of whom arrived in Frankfurt on Wednesday morning. 

The Orange Democratic Movement has organised a retreat in Frankfurt this weekend that will see them discuss party politics as well as campaign for the upcoming elections and lure potential investors, sponsors and political advisors. Many of the events set to take place within Frankfurt, Darmstadt and the larger Rhine Neckar region will include speaking to companies, fund raising and meeting the Kenyan community in Germany.

Tuesday saw the first group of ODM delegates led by former boxer and Makadara MP, Reuben Ndolo, arrive in Frankfurt what is set to be the biggest Kenyan political rally to be held in Germany. The second group of 60 delegates followed on Wednesday led by former Kisumu Town West MP, Rev Ken Nyagudi, as they await the party’s leader, Raila Odinga, who is set to arrive on Friday.

According to a statement released by the ODM Party, the delegates will be staying in Germany for three days as they look for partnership opportunities with firms based in Germany among them: John Deere, the American farm machinery producer based in Mannheim; Heidelberg Cement and Siemens.

The Kenyan Business Summit that was planned for Kenyan entrepreneurs to meet the delegation this Friday, was cancelled. However, a political rally of sorts will still be held in Frankfurt.

Date: Saturday, 17th September 2016

Time: Food will be served from 6pm; Main event starts at 8pm

Venue: Henschelsstraße 26, 60314 Frankfurt Am Main.

According to the Standard newspaper, the party will also be in talks to pick a flag bearer in the upcoming elections, as they strategise on the best way to approach the campaigns. Also looking to use the trip as a fundraising exercise, which is further evidenced by Rev. Nyagudi’s attendance, was also mentioned. Nyagudi was earlier this year elected to the position of director of E-fundraising and resource mobilization in the party. ODM however refuted these claims in the statement released on Wednesday regarding the trip.

Kenya’s Star newspaper reported that Odinga would be leaving Nairobi on Wednesday night after William ole Ntimama’s burial in Narok. It goes further to report that Odinga will be meeting with Angela Merkel and giving public lectures at several institutions of higher learning within the country.

A look into Angela Merkel’s calendar shows she will be in Paris on Thursday and Bruxelles on Friday with no mention of a meeting with Raila on any of those day. It is however possible they might meet privately over the weekend. (Her private calendar is not made public.)

Neither the meeting with Merkel nor Raila’s arrival into Germany today was confirmed by the organisers or the ODM press release.