ODM Headquarters./FILE
Camps comprising key ODM figures from the Western and Nyanza regions are slowly taking shape as Raila Odinga’s party faces its biggest threat of a split in its 22 years of existence.
At the heart of the clash is general secretary Edwin Sifuna's insistence that the party must not support President Ruto’s re-election in 2027.
The comments were interpreted as veering off the ODM script, especially after Raila indicated the possibility of rallying the party behind Ruto’s re-election.
What began as a divergent opinion on the political direction the party will take in 2027 has morphed into open political rivalry between the two blocs that are the pillars of the Orange party.
The simmering feud exploded into public view at the weekend as the camps held parallel meetings in Kisumu and Kakamega counties.
In Kakamega, MPs allied to Sifuna demanded at the county’s delegates meeting that the Nairobi senator, who had earlier in the week declared dead the political deal between President William Ruto and Raila, be backed.
On the same day, the ODM brigades from Nyanza were in Muhoroni constituency, firing salvos at Sifuna.
ODM national chairperson and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga led the Nyanza team in rebuking Sifuna, telling him off over the Ruto-Raila MoU.
“Raila Odinga has never instructed us to leave the agreement. So, if you speak against the broad-based government, you’re not speaking on behalf of ODM,” Wanga said.
Raila attended the Kakamega delegates’ conference convened by Governor Fernandes Barasa.
The leaders, largely from western Kenya, told Raila to his face to protect Sifuna from his Luo Nyanza MPs, who have been firing salvos at the senator.
Western Kenya leaders, long seen as junior partners in the Odinga-led coalition, are now demanding equal footing, or else they will chart their own course.
“I want you to go back to Nyanza and speak to them in vernacular that the ODM party is not a party of Luos; it is a party for all Kenyans,” Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala told Raila to his face.
“When one stands to speak and tell others to exit the party because of their tribe, what will become of ODM when we all leave?”
There have been calls, especially from Nyanza leaders, for the resignation of Sifuna over his hard stance on the Ruto-Raila deal, which some party stalwarts view as an affront to Raila.
“We want you to protect Sifuna from our brothers. He is not against the party, he is just trying to bring it back on track,” Wanjala added.
ODM deputy party leader and Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, speaking at the same event, threatened to resign from the party should Sifuna be pushed out.
“If you say he should resign, I will also follow him,” he said.
Osotsi said the party is yet to agree on the candidate to support in 2027, and those pushing for Ruto’s second term are on their own.
Butere MP Tindi Mwale told Sifuna’s critics to slow down.
“It is not that since we are in broad-based, we should be blind to the administration’s excesses. We must tell each other the truth,” Mwale said.
“When the government is making mistakes, then everyone, including Sifuna, has the right to say this is wrong. Sifuna did no wrong.”
In Kisumu, a rival meeting, heavily attended by the party’s traditional Nyanza power base, fired back at Sifuna’s camp, accusing him of undermining the parts at a crucial juncture.
Alego Usonga MP Sam Atandi said the region has decided to back Ruto, and nothing will stop them.
“Our friendship with Ruto is unstoppable; whether you are an activist or senator from Nairobi, you are making noise that is none of our business,” Atandi fired at Sifuna’s camp.
“As elected leaders, we have brains, and we know where the country is coming from and where the country is going. So when we make a decision, you cannot come and lecture us. We have decided to work with Ruto, and that will happen whether you like it or not.”
Raila’s elder brother and Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga warned Sifuna against imposing his opinion on the party, insisting the party leader will give the way forward.
“Sifuna has a right to express his views; I also have my views. My view is that our arrangement with UDA was ratified by ODM. Let the party convene another meeting and decide otherwise,” he said.
To bring the party on track, Raila has moved to convene a Central Management Committee, where the sticky issues will be discussed and a common position taken.
The Star has established that the meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow.
