By Anderson Ojwang
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is acting like a jilted lover in a marriage which is yet to be consummated after the groom, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), showed indifference.
The pomp, fanfare and illustrious parties that marked the wooing of the bride after the demise of the founder and immediate party leader, the late Raila Amolo Odinga, seem to have disappeared into thin air.
The goodies, expensive gifts, high-end meetings and chopper rides that initially formed part and parcel of the engagement have since dried up, and the party is back to its financial constraints after the groom failed to disburse the Sh12 billion owed to the bride from the Political Parties Fund.
The romantic tone and gestures that formed part of discussions have been replaced by rudeness, verbal abuse, intimidation and blackmail.
Recently, the bride enjoyed a flight to Kilifi for a National Governing Council, which culminated in the unsuccessful sacking of the Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, now a principal in the Linda Mwananchi faction of the party.
The high-end escapade also ratified the Special Delegates Conference, which confirmed Dr Oburu Oginga as the party leader, Gladys Wanga as the National Chairperson, Kisii Governor Simba Arati and his Mombasa counterpart Abdulsamad Nassir as deputy party leaders, among others.
The SDC also sacked Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi as deputy party leader, but the senator is currently a principal in the Linda Mwananchi faction. The SDC also mandated Oburu to engage with the groom, President William Ruto.
But after the SDC, the pre-election coalition talks that informed the formation of Linda Ground to engage the party members on the negotiations seem to have died a natural death.
Jilted Lover
On Thursday, the Central Management Committee meeting demanded respect from the partner UDA in a statement.
“On our relationship with our broad-based partners, the UDA party, the CMC noted with concern the goings-on and the unwarranted public utterances by some senior officials aimed at causing anxiety and disquiet among our members. As a party that believes in its principles, ideology and the foundation on which it was founded, we demand respect from the UDA party,” read the statement in parts.
Sweet love when it lasted
Kisumu Women Representative, then Ruth Adhiambo Odinga, expressed concern over the overnight riches in the party.
“As a signatory to the ODM account, if Sifuna questioned where all the money for choppers, big tents and ODM branded t-shirts and caps in the ‘Linda Ground’ conventions were coming from? We are seeing a situation where a lot of money is flying around, and there appears to be a deliberate approach to commit ODM party into a coalition agreement more than a year to the next general elections?” she asked.
Sifuna revealed that the funds and resources that were used in the 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, the monies do not come from ODM headquarters. For me, I can only account for the monies because I am a signatory to the bank accounts. Timothy Bosire is a signatory to the bank accounts. 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 they do not know where the funds were coming from.
“For a fact, there is parallel funding for activities clothed in ODM colors, and they go around saying they are ODM delegates. The Linda Ground are not financed from the ODM coffers and headquarters. There is no money that I executed a cheque for those activities. We didn’t have any money. The third quarter remittance from the exchequer came two weeks ago, about Sh100 million, and it is a drop in the ocean compared to what exactly ODM is supposed to receive.”
Warning signal
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua told the ODM leadership to request President Ruto to disburse the Sh12 billion political fund owed to the party by the government.
Gachagua said it was unfortunate that the leadership was driven by tokenism from the president instead of the disbursement of political funds owed to them.
“Instead of going for tokens, kindly ask the President to disburse even half of the amount owed to make the party financially sound. Former party national chairman John Mbadi is the current Cabinet Secretary for Finance. Why can’t he arrange to release funds to ODM? We need a stronger party with a sound financial standing. This is what the party leadership should prioritize,” Gachagua said.
Defiance by Linda Ground
Wanga then told Gachagua to give them a break and that they do not want his advice.
“Gachagua should give us a break. He should concentrate on his village party, DCP. He has built his politics on hate and division,” she said.
The hard times in the offing
Linda Ground has morphed into Linda Chama and has been sent into a panic and crying mode.
And now Wanga has come out strongly to protect ODM from infiltration, saying they were ready to walk out of any negotiations.
“Ka ngato omulo chama wa. Kata in ema omiyo wa mo moleny (If someone tries to destroy our party, even if he is the one who gives us ghee). Waweyo ne mo no (We will leave that ghee),” she said.
Wanga said it was time to protect the party from intrusion and to prevent the party from losing its parliamentary strength in the next election.
“Nyaka warit chama (We must protect the party). Ok inyal bedo e mesa ka in gimps 20 onge ngame dbi winji (You cannot go to the negotiation when you only have 20 MPs because you will have no bargaining power),” she said.
Wanga said Raila was able to negotiate on the strength of his MPs and expressed concern that the party may lose that strength in 2027 if they do not win most of the seats.
Junet warned their partners in the broad-based alliance against infiltration of their strongholds and threatened to walk out.
“I want to tell our UDA partners that we want power. If we can’t get it here, we will look elsewhere,” he said.
Junet claimed that state machinery was being used to pressure ODM legislators – particularly from the Coast and Western regions – to defect to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
He said the move was aimed at weakening ODM’s national influence and reducing it to a regional outfit.
Gachagua’s last laugh
Gachagua has been vindicated, and his warning to the ODM leadership that President William Ruto was fattening them for the butcher’s knife has come to pass.
He had warned the ODM leadership of Dr Oburu Oginga, National Chairperson Gladys Wanga and Director of Elections Junet Mohammed of Ruto’s scheme to destroy the party.
“I have often told ODM leadership that they should not allow William Ruto to destroy ODM. You shouted me down and asked that I should keep off. I have seen Gladys Wanga is now crying. Junet Mohammed is also crying. All the Raila’s leaders are crying. I warned you that Kasongo will destroy ODM, but you didn’t listen to me,” he said.
Tears of regret
Wanga opened the taps of tears as they freely flowed over what she termed as betrayal and lack of respect for ODM.
Visibly emotional and drained, Wanga used a handkerchief in her hand to wipe the tears as the public watched in disbelief and sympathized at the same time.
Wanga declared that ODM was the only inheritance left behind by the founder, the late Raila Odinga, and will defend it at all cost.
“This our party is what our party leader, the late Raila, left us. It is all we have. We will defend and protect our party. Defending our party comes number one before anything else. So we will defend our party, our people, and we will defend our areas. We will make sure that our parliamentary strength is not reduced by even an inch. Ok wane mumbo wala ei ot (We are not scared of darkness). No. It is our party. Weche modong wabiro wacho mbele ka wasebedo kod heshima e party ka (We will only discuss other business when respect exists),” she said.
