By Anderson Ojwang
Kenya’s oldest opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), has a date with destiny. The rumbling and grappling within the party are telling.
The confusion, accusations, and counter-accusations are deafening. If anything, the party is turning into a theatre of the absurd.
In the late 1970s, our then socialism-leaning neighbours, Tanzania, described Kenya as a man-eat-man society. Now, the reality of political cannibalism is taking root in the party led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Francis Imbuga’s play Betrayal in the City is currently finding its setting in ODM, with various political factions within the party assuming the characters from the book.
Welcome to Baba’s party—the party that was birthed after the successful anti-draft constitution campaign of 2005 and came close to clinching the disputed 2007 presidential election.
ODM, the party that has presented a presidential candidate in the last four elections and enjoys national support, is facing a reality check following Raila’s temporary exit from the local political scene for a continental platform.
Raila’s absence and the reorganisation of the party leadership—following the appointment of key party leaders, including immediate former chairman John Mbadi, immediate former deputy party leaders Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya, and the party’s Political Affairs Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to President William Ruto’s government—have created a vacuum in the party.
The subsequent reorganisation saw Kisumu Governor Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o appointed as the acting party leader, while Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga was named the national chairperson.
Both Nyong’o and party Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna are reading from the same script, while Wanga and her team have a different agenda—one that supports President Ruto and advocates for an ODM-UDA alliance ahead of the 2027 election.
The fallout in ODM has been further worsened by Raila’s loss in the race for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson seat, triggering a scramble for influence both within and outside the party.
It’s a free-for-all in ODM, as top leadership and members have resorted to full-fledged, bare-knuckle attacks, raising red flags over the party’s future ahead of the next general election.
ODM Nairobi Chairman George Aladwa, in an open bare-knuckle attack, accused Sifuna of working for the impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, whom he claims has promised the Nairobi senator support for his presidential bid.
“I want to warn Sifuna, who calls himself the Secretary-General of ODM. We have had several Secretary-Generals of the party. He is not the first. Ababu Namwamba left, and he will also leave just like Ababu did.
Let him stop abusing Aladwa forthwith. I want to tell Sifuna, the senator, that his days in ODM are numbered. The same Sifuna is the one being used by Gachagua—even during the impeachment, he brought trouble. He just voted for impeachment for the sake of it.
We know that he is the candidate for the Nairobi governor seat in Gachagua’s wing of the political divide.
Recently, he was with Gachagua and others at a church service in Kawangware. We know he has defected from ODM, and he should not lie to people,” Aladwa said.
Sifuna, recently in the company of Kalonzo Musyoka, said he would not be compromised in criticising the government.
“Today, I accompanied Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka for a prayer service. I want to ask you one question: Did you send me to the Senate to offer effective representation or not?
If things are bad, do I speak up, or should I remain silent? Some people are saying that Sifuna should remain quiet because certain individuals got into government. I will stand for the truth, come rain or shine,” he said.
Deputy Party Leader Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir said some people expected that, after the Addis Ababa loss, ODM and its leadership would embark on destabilising the government and creating chaos.
“Where the government needs help, we will help. Where we must criticise, we will also do the same. We will give direction when needed—we will show you the way. The country comes first before any other interest,” said the Mombasa Governor.
Siaya Governor James Orengo has maintained that ODM must stick to its political ideals and stop engaging in cheap alliances that may only sink the party.
“Politicians don’t listen. They are only concerned with the immediacy of the moment. If you are in Parliament without understanding your very essence—who you are and what you stand for—then we are not going to get anywhere.
Prof. Bethwell Ogot and the Ugandan scholar Okot p’Bitek always spoke about the Luo and our practices. The Luo nation must be the people to determine the direction this country is taking. I am happy with what Raila Amolo has done for this nation.
I don’t fear speaking the truth. We are part of this nation. So when we speak, I don’t want us to talk from a point of weakness.
I don’t address anybody from a position of weakness. President Kibaki knew this, and even President Ruto knows that when I speak to him, I don’t do so from a position of weakness—because I know my rights, determined by the Almighty God.
So don’t turn the Luo nation into a community that arrived here by accident. We are not here by accident. And we are still looking forward to the day a Luo will be President of Kenya. We are looking for that day!
We can only achieve that when our house—ODM—is strong, and when we stop running away. I know that if we do this, we will be on the path of honesty and truthfulness.
Let us not get involved in other people’s fights. I want to say that I have been here long enough. There are people who may seem very bright because they have attained degrees, but you can be bright and still be a fool.
You may come across a degree holder driving a high-end vehicle, yet his mother’s house is leaking. He is fighting his own mother.
I am urging you, as the Luo, to understand that we are not visitors. What we get is our right. We do not want politics of shareholders,” he said.
However, Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said that, as a community and as ODM, the party was supportive of a broad-based government.
“As it stands, we now know our friends and our enemies. If you walk with our enemies, we will treat you in the same manner.
We have identified those who are our genuine friends and those who do not mean well for us.
I want you to know that we are in ODM. I am a senior member of ODM. So, where ODM issues are being discussed, I am also in attendance,” he said.
