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| Collage of ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga (L) and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna |
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is facing internal divisions over its stance on the broad-based government and strategies for the 2027 elections, threatening the unity of the 20-year-old party.
A heated debate has emerged among senior leaders on whether ODM can maintain its identity while working with President William Ruto’s government.
Siaya Governor James Orengo has warned against compromising the party’s principles.
“We have an identity and if we lose, our identity for any quick victories, we are going to pay for it in future,” Orengo said at a burial in Siaya.
At the same time, he insisted that ODM leaders in government must remain true to the party's ideals.
"Loss of our identity should never arise, and if you make compromises, they must be justifiable before God and Justice," he said.
However, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, who is also ODM's national chairperson, defended collaboration with the government, arguing that opposing Ruto’s administration would harm the party.
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| Homa Bay Governor and ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga |
“We are not a merger, but a standalone party,” Wanga said. “When your child is inside a house, do you burn it? You cannot burn it with your child in there. It will be your loss.”
Wanga criticized those calling for opposition to the government, labeling them “enemies who are friends with shareholders.”
She emphasized the need for unity, particularly as ODM members hold key positions in Ruto’s administration.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna took a firmer stance, accusing some leaders of abandoning the party’s principles.
“There are people in the ODM party who have forgotten where the party came from and what it stands for. Others are telling me that they are now tired of speaking for Kenyans, they are saying they were not born to stay in the opposition,” Sifuna said during a church service on Sunday, January 26.
“Those who feel like they are tired of fighting for Kenyans and standing for the truth should just leave ODM,” the vocal Nairobi Senator added.
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