By Anderson Ojwang
The fallout in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) took a new twist after the Luhya Elders Forum held an intensive and high-voltage meeting with party leader Dr. Oburu Oginga in Kisumu, where they declared support for Edwin Sifuna as the Secretary General of the party.
The elders sided with Sifuna as Secretary General and rejected the appointment of Catherine Omanyo as the Secretary General of the party.
“Senator Sifuna went to the Dispute Tribunal and was given a reprieve until the matter is heard and determined. We have noted that the position of the Party Leader is that Senator Sifuna is the Secretary General of the court and that it is Hon. Catherine Omanyo who is the Secretary General of ODM.
This is far from the truth. ODM stands for the rule of law. If the Tribunal reinstated Senator Sifuna to his position, ODM should comply and allow Senator Sifuna to perform his duties,” the elders told Oburu at the meeting.
The Luhya Elders Forum convened the meeting over what they termed as alarming and worrying political divisions in ODM and the sacking of party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna by Dr. Oburu and his allies.
The meeting was also attended by the Ker of the Luo Council of Elders, Mzee Odungi Randa, who confirmed that the meeting delved into the emerging split in the party and possible solutions to arrest it.
“We had a healthy discussion with party leader Dr. Oburu and the elders from the Luhya community. We were concerned about the split in the party and how to find a solution to it,” he said.
The Luhya Elders Forum Demands
The meeting brief said it was arranged by the Luhya Elders Forum in order to find a solution to what they described as an escalating problem in ODM that was likely to affect the community.
The forum was angered by the recent decision to sack Sifuna as the ODM Secretary General and stated that they stand with the Nairobi senator as the bona fide Secretary General of the party.
“The elders were not happy with the decision that was taken to expel Senator Sifuna from the position of Secretary General of ODM.
The elders have reviewed many publications and can confirm that the position taken by Senator Sifuna aligns with the late Raila Odinga’s mind,” read the brief.
Recently, the ODM National Executive Council (NEC) sacked Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as the Secretary General and spokesperson with immediate effect.
The move followed a protracted battle between the faction allied to party leader Dr. Oburu Oginga and Sifuna over the pre-election coalition pact with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
In a statement read by ODM, “The Party National Executive Committee meeting in Mombasa today has resolved to relieve Secretary General Edwin Sifuna of his responsibilities with immediate effect.
Effectively, Catherine Omanyo, who is one of the Deputy Secretaries General, will act in this position until a substantive holder of the office is elected.”
But Sifuna moved to the Political Parties Tribunal Court and got a reprieve. Oburu maintained that Omanyo was the party Secretary General, while Sifuna was the court-recognized Secretary General.
The elders said the NGC resolutions made in Kilifi did not confine ODM to entering into a deal with UDA alone but allowed engagement with all political formations in the country, including President William Ruto’s UDA.
“We are aware that ODM does have structures that have been specifically created to deal with coalitions, and it is not proper for Senator Oburu and Chairlady Governor Gladys Wanga to handle discussions, nor is it proper to deal with the matters in public rallies,” they said at the meeting.
The elders supported sentiments by ODM Vice Chairperson Dr. Otiende Amollo over structured negotiations, where he asked Dr. Oburu to delegate the talks to other members of the party.
“We would like to refer specifically to sentiments attributed to Hon. Otiende Amollo on the same matter. We have given a copy of the publication, which we think spells out the exact position,” they said.
Otiende told Oburu at a recent ODM function in Kisumu that as party leader of ODM, he cannot double up as the lead negotiator in the ODM–President William Ruto United Democratic Alliance (UDA) pre-election coalition pact.
“At the beginning, it was me who spoke about structured dialogue. Currently, Dr. Oburu, you are our leader. Everyone in attendance is in agreement that we must have structured negotiations.
If we talk about structured negotiations, it doesn’t mean we are against the talks. We demand more slots.
Dr. Oburu, now we are heading to structured negotiations. You should not lead the talks. You are our leader, and you cannot be at the front. You can be killed and we remain without a leader.
You must have what they call the first right of acceptance and the first right of refusal.
If it is right, you accept, and when it is wrong, you refuse. Use your foot soldiers. Even if the foot soldiers are killed, that is normal provided the leader is safe,” he said.
The elders asked the party leadership to put in motion proper mechanisms to deal with the coalition discussions.
The elders also said the party leadership should move with speed to end the split in the party.
“They should, as a sign of goodwill, settle the Tribunal’s case. The party leader or any individuals should not be involved directly in the discussions. Once a decision is taken on the coalitions, then public participation can take place,” they said.
Randa said it was agreed at the meeting that the Elders Forum would engage Sifuna to break the ice and reconcile him with Oburu.
The elders asked Oburu that in future they should consider town hall meetings instead of public rallies to achieve the objective of public participation.
“Town hall discussions are a better way of carrying out participation since they give people a chance to interrogate the matter,” they said.
ODM currently has two factions: Linda Ground, allied to Dr. Oburu, which supports a pre-election coalition with President Ruto, and Linda Mwananchi, which is opposed to it.
