By Anderson Ojwang
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Dr Oburu Oginga, has moved to crack the whip in the party by inviting the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for this Wednesday.
The meeting is expected to hand in disciplinary measures on three “rebel” officials who read from a different script from the party leader on the pre-election coalition.
Oburu and his faction are expected to crack the whip on the party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, Deputy Party Leader Geoffrey Osotsi, and Deputy Organising Secretary Ruth Odinga.
The trio have been critical of the proposed pre-election pact between ODM and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) of President William Ruto.
Sources told Western Insight that the faction, stung by the successful Busia Linda Wananchi rally, urgently convened a high-voltage meeting in Nairobi, which sealed the fate of the trio.
Sources told Western Insight that Oburu’s team was sent into panic mode and resolved that it was time to kick out the trio to avoid losing the party leadership to Sifuna’s team.
Attempts to talk to Oburu were unsuccessful as his calls went unanswered, while ODM Director of Communication Philip Etale could not be reached.
Yesterday, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi called for the sacking of Sifuna for disrespecting Oburu’s leadership status, saying they were fully behind the pre-election coalition with President Ruto.
The move comes hot on the heels of last week’s explosive interview on Citizen TV with Sifuna, who revealed that Linda Ground activities by Oburu’s team were receiving parallel funding and not from the party coffers.
He also said Oburu and a section of party officials were still serving on an interim basis, a position Oburu vehemently denied in a press statement.
In a recent interview, Sifuna said the Kilifi Central Management Committee ratified that the party engages in coalition talks with various political formations in the country.
“The resolution of the Kilifi meeting is clear and specific. It said the party to embark on coalition formation with other political formation in the country. There is nowhere it talked about UDA as the only formation. We expect to engage all the political formations in the country with a view of a possible alliance” he said.
Sifuna said ODM, as one of the oldest parties in the country, was prepared to present a presidential candidate and quoted the late Raila Odinga saying “who told you ODM will not have a presidential candidate in 2027”.
He also maintained that Dr Oburu and his team were still on an interim basis and would have to be ratified by the National Delegates Conference.
In a press statement, Oburu said they were substantively in office and dismissed Sifuna’s claims that they were interim party officials.
Oburu wrote, “We want to state categorically that all party officials are serving substantively and are supported by the party organs’ resolutions. However, the interview also contained assertions that misled the public regarding the legitimacy of certain party organs and office holders. ODM has, since its inception, demonstrated fidelity to its constitution and to the rule of law. The same principle has put every individual in their rightful positions, including that of Senator Sifuna.”
Sifuna revealed that the funds and resources being used in the ongoing Linda Ground engagement did not come from the party.
“The money and the resources you see being spent on the ODM rallies called Linda Ground do not come from ODM headquarters. For me, I can only account for the monies because I am a signatory to the bank accounts, and Timothy Bosire is also a signatory. The last money we expended as ODM officially was for the celebration in Mombasa, and it was a fraction of what you saw there,” he said.
Sifuna said there was parallel funding of political activities in the party and that they did not know where the funds were coming from.
“For a fact, there is parallel funding for activities clothed in ODM colours, and they go around saying they are ODM delegates. The Linda Ground activities are not financed from the ODM coffers and headquarters. There is no money that I executed a cheque for those activities.”
Ruth also questioned the millions of shillings currently being used by the party to hire choppers, tents, and pay delegates while the party was owed Sh12 billion by the government.
The Linda Wananchi had a successful rally in Busia, where they vowed to derail any coalition talks with President Ruto. In this camp are battle-hardened leaders led by Kenya’s longest-serving political activist, Siaya Governor James Orengo, alongside new entrants MP Babu Owino, Sifuna, Osotsi, among others.
