By Anderson Ojwang
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) will hold its National Delegates Conference (NDC) to decide any future political alliance ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
The party’s Secretary General, Mr Edwin Sifuna, said ODM is a national party with membership across the country and that the grave matter of determining a coalition rests with the National Delegates Conference.
Sifuna also said the NDC is the only organ mandated with disciplining and expelling the Secretary General of the party.
“ODM is a national party with Luhya, Mijikenda, Somali, among other communities, and it is not personal property. Any discussions made about the party must be made through talks with ODM members.
We will have the National Delegates Conference to decide the future coalition arrangements of the party or to present a presidential candidate in the 2027 elections,” he said.
Sifuna claimed the party leader, Dr Oburu Odinga, was being misled by a section of party officials who want to auction the party to President Ruto.
Sifuna asked Oburu to adopt the late party leader Raila Odinga’s virtue of consultation in order to be abreast with emerging trends.
“Some people are lying to our party leader, Dr Oburu Odinga. Raila consulted. Even old women in the villages would call Raila directly and he listened to them. This is what made Raila a great leader,” he said.
Sifuna said they had smoked out some of the party officials who were plotting to sell the party to President Ruto and that they would not allow that to happen.
“Some of us have been going for secret meetings in Kilgoris to auction the party to William Ruto, and we smoked them out.
Now they have turned around to claim we want to sell the party to Uhuru Kenyatta. In Nairobi streets, a thief can steal from you and when you shout, he turns around and starts beating you, claiming you are the thief,” he said.
Sifuna said President Ruto does not owe ODM anything except the full implementation of the 10-point accord he signed with the late Raila Odinga.
“Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, I kindly request you to tell President Ruto that he does not owe ODM anything but the full implementation of the 10-point agenda he signed with Raila,” he said.
But over the weekend, Oburu said the party had embarked on fresh negotiations with President Ruto over a new political arrangement and that ODM would support his second-term election.
“My people, I am telling you this broad-based arrangement which Raila left us is the best arrangement he could have done, and this is where our people should stay.
We are going to move forward so that in 2027 our people are in government and opposition,” he said.
During the ODM celebrations in Mombasa, Winnie Odinga called for the National Delegates Conference (NDC) to choose a new team to manage the broad-based arrangement with President Ruto.
“There is something I wanted to tell you. When it came to the matter of the broad-based government, the people of ODM entrusted one person with the management of that relationship. That person was Baba Raila Amolo Odinga.
That relationship is complicated, and therefore we are looking and wondering whether those who are taking upon themselves to manage it now are capable of managing that relationship.
I do not think that is a question for me to answer. That is a question for the people of ODM to answer. That is why, party leader, I am requesting that we need to go back to the people and have an NDC to see who the people want to pick to manage that same relationship,” she said.
ODM Director of Elections Junet Mohammed, speaking over the weekend, claimed Uhuru was enticing some of the ODM leaders with financial support to revitalise the party in order to join the united opposition.
“If you want to be party leader, go and form your party. There are people who want to take over our party. There are people who are being paid by former President Uhuru Kenyatta. We want to tell them, if they think Dr Oburu has no ability, we are his foot soldiers and we will fight to the bitter end,” he claimed.
Junet promised that 2026 would be an all-out battle and that there would be premium tears, and that they would not be scared by cheap threats.
“Call us brokers, call us thieves, we are not leaving the broad-based government. It is you who is going to leave ODM. Uhuru Kenyatta failed to make Raila president despite having the instruments of power,” he said.
He said it was only the party leader, Dr Oburu, who is mandated by the constitution to run for the presidency.
“There are some within ODM who say that ODM must have a presidential candidate. The constitution says the presidential candidate is the party leader. Dr Oburu is the one who will tell us if he wants to be the presidential candidate or not. This is not a party of drunkards,” he said.
Siaya Governor James Orengo said he recognises Sifuna as the party spokesperson and Geoffrey Osotsi as the Deputy Party Leader.
