The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party is preparing a series of events to mark its 20th anniversary in Mombasa early next month.
The week-long celebration will coincide with the date the party was officially registered.
Preparations are underway to identify delegates from across the country, with the programme now at its final stages.
A planning committee chaired by party chairperson Gladys Wanga met in Nairobi on Tuesday to review the activities and prepare the list of guests.
The programme is expected to feature social and political activities, including sports tournaments. Organisers said several Kenyan Premier League teams may take part in a football competition, although details remain tentative.
“There are many activities, both social and political, lined up culminating in the main celebrations to be held in Mombasa. We can’t release all the details now as some of the events are tentative,” a member of the organising committee said.
As part of the commemoration, ODM plans to recognise members, both past and present, who have made significant contributions to the party. Invitations will also be extended to friends of the movement.
The celebrations will include a National Delegates Convention (NDC), during which the party is expected to unveil a rebranding strategy as it looks ahead to the 2027 general elections.
Among those expected to be invited are ODM’s founding members, including President William Ruto, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
“We are going to have 20 years of ODM in October. And all the founding members are going to be invited,” ODM leader Raila Odinga said recently during a joint ODM–UDA parliamentary group meeting in Nairobi.
“One of the founding members of ODM is sitting here with you,” he added, in reference to President Ruto, while also acknowledging retired President Uhuru as a key figure in the party’s early history.
ODM traces its origins to the 2005 constitutional referendum, when the Electoral Commission of Kenya assigned the Orange symbol to the “No” team, opposing the draft constitution. The rival camp adopted the Banana symbol for “Yes.”
The movement drew further inspiration from Ukraine’s 2004 “Orange Revolution,” where a disputed presidential election triggered mass protests.
ODM’s original leadership structure, known as the “Pentagon,” included Raila Odinga, William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi, Najib Balala, and the late Joe Nyaga, later joined by Charity Ngilu. Kalonzo Musyoka, who initially aligned with the group, later broke away to lead ODM-Kenya, which was eventually rebranded as the Wiper Democratic Movement.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, then the KANU national chairman, also joined the Orange side in the 2005 referendum, opposing the draft constitution. However, after the referendum, he shifted allegiance and supported President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election in 2007, while Raila led ODM into a bitterly contested election that triggered the 2007/08 post-election violence.
In April this year, President Ruto, speaking in a light-hearted tone, remarked on his role as a founding member of ODM while addressing comments by ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna.
“Nimeskia Sifuna anaongea na nguvu. Wakati unaongea mambo yangu Sifuna, ujue mimi ndio mwanzilishi wa ODM so unaenda polepole kidogo. Sisi ndio tulianza hii kitu. Na unajua ukinisukuma sana, nitaitisha mkutano ya founder members wa ODM…tukiitisha hiyo mkutano kukufanyia discipline, sisi ambao tulianza chama. So tuendeni mossmoss.”
(I have heard Sifuna speak strongly. However, when you talk about me, just remember I am a founder member of ODM and thus relax. We are the founders of this thing, and if you push too far, I will convene a meeting of founder members to discipline you as founders. So just go slow.
The anniversary comes at a time when ODM is navigating internal divisions following its decision to sign a memorandum of understanding with President Ruto’s UDA party, which paved the way for senior ODM members to join cabinet positions in the Broad-Based Government (BBG).
Of the five ODM members currently serving in the cabinet, four previously held senior party positions: John Mbadi as chairperson, Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya as deputy party leaders, and Opiyo Wandayi as minority leader in the National Assembly.
