An ODM retreat meant to shape 2027 coalition strategy turns into factional fights, with Joho mobilising support for running mate ambitions.
President William Ruto and ODM leader Oburu Oginga during the UDA-ODM joint Parliamentary Group meeting at KICC in Nairobi.. [PCS] What was billed as an ODM retreat to strategise how to engage President William Ruto’s side over the 2027 coalition turned into factional wars inside the Linda Ground team.. High-ranking politicians in the Oburu Oginga-led faction of ODM were split over three Cabinet Secretaries’ push to join the party’s Central Management Committee.. Sources at the
meeting hinted that Ruto sees Oginga as a passing cloud in the ODM leadership and that the three CSs should take charge of its affairs ahead of coalition talks.. The ground was prepared.. Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho rallied most ODM leaders in the Coast, North Eastern and Nyanza regions behind his quest to be Ruto’s running mate.. A week before the retreat, ODM chairperson Gladys Wanga bought into the idea and endorsed Joho for the
post in a series of media interviews and public rallies.. The Homa Bay Governor’s move appears to elbow out Oginga in the race for the post.. Meanwhile, Joho has never minced his words on his quest to take over ODM leadership.. During the first day of the retreat, he declared that he was ready to give up his CS post for the leadership of ODM, saying he was among the party’s founder member.. Joho’s ally,
Wajir Governor Abdulahi Ahmed, also told off ODM leaders from Siaya County, who he claimed were depicting the party as a Luo entity.. “As leaders from other parts of the country, not in Nyanza, we will not allow anybody to kill this party.. This is not a Siaya Party,” said Ahmed, a sign of a tense retreat.. Oginga was conspicuously absent from the 3-day retreat to strategise on negotiations for the forthcoming pre-election coalition with
UDA.. “It is at this point that Kisumu County Woman Representative Ruth Odinga walked out of the retreat with Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma in tears.. “You realise after a stormy first day, the second day the agenda changed into party issues and not the 2027 pact with UDA,” said the source in the meeting.. Observers see the presence of three key cabinet secretaries in the retreat, Joho, Wycliffe Oparanya and John Mbadi, as
Ruto’s scheme to gain full control of the Oburu ODM faction ahead of the pre-election coalition talks with UDA.. Other CSs from the ODM side, Mr Opiyo Wandayi and Ms Beatrice Askul, did not attend the retreat.. Ruto is believed to have used the CSs from ODM to make inroads in the Orange strongholds that include Nyanza, Western and the Coast regions.. Joho has been mobilising Coast elected leaders and announced his interest in the
deputy president position in 2027 and going for the presidency in 2032.. The meeting was attended by the ODM parliamentary group, the Council of Governors, the National Executive Committee (NEC), majority and minority leaders and trustees.. Pwani University lecturer Hassan Mwakimako argued that the presence of the three influential CSs seconded to government by ODM was Ruto’s strategy to push the Oburu ODM team towards clinching an easy coalition pact, although they had maintained that
they were there to strengthen the party that they built.. “The three CSs have a role to push ODM to have a pre-election pact with Ruto.. They only rely on ODM because without it, they have no place to run to and will have no face,” he argued.. According to Prof.. Mwakimako, ODM has split into three groups – one fronted by the CSs who originated from the party; the Linda Ground, headed by Oburu;
and Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi – and the CSs want to show that they still influence the Orange Party.. “If elections are called today, ODM will be in three factions; it is not consolidated.. Ruto wants support or has the ODM disintegrate.. The Nyanza vote bloc is not consolidated; the votes will be split if we have an election now,” he argued.. When he took to the podium at the Mombasa retreat, Joho stated that
he was both a CS and politician, adding that the party he helped found was built through much sacrifice and would one day lead the country.. “Don’t ask me about the CS position and politics.. I am a politician; I will defend our party, ODM,” he roared.. He added, “ODM is bold, ODM is solid, ODM is strong, and ODM will get to power either by coalition or by ourselves.” Oparanya argued that he attended
the retreat to show the world that the party was strong under the leadership of Dr Oburu.. Mbadi said he served as chairman of the party for 10 years and came to the forum to back the current leadership, as it is their time to lead.. “I attended to give them support and demonstrate unity in ODM,” he said.. Deputy party leader and Kisii governor Simba Arati downplayed the absence of Dr Oburu throughout the
retreat, saying he was engaged elsewhere.. Arati extended an olive branch to members who left the party to go back and embrace unity ahead of the polls.. In a speech presented by Mr Arati, Oburu lamented that voter registrations in ODM strongholds were low and urged officials to put more effort into raising the numbers.. “The strength and position of our party can only be solidified if we have the numbers.. I therefore wish to
sincerely thank all those who have played a role in voter registration efforts across their various regions and constituencies, though our strongholds’ registration is still low and we need to put in more efforts,” he noted.. Oburu also told the leaders to focus on serving the people at the grassroots level to help strengthen the party, “make it easier to win the confidence of the electorate, and help us secure as many positions as possible,
thereby increasing our bargaining power.” On the forthcoming pre-election coalition talks, Oburu pledged to ensure a consultative process is done.. “We are yet to begin our negotiations, and I would like to request that, before we start endorsing one another, we ensure a thorough and consultative process is undertaken,” he stated.. He also pledged to ensure that ODM gives fair and equal opportunity to contestants to compete for positions in the forthcoming party primaries so
as to prevent divisions and loss of members.. “Every contestant must be given a fair and equal opportunity to compete for any position.. The only way we can prevent division and the loss of our members is by collectively ensuring that our primaries are conducted transparently,” he stated.. He directed that he and the ODM trustees and the executive communicate official party positions to end confusion and present a strong and unified front.. In the
raft of resolutions mainly based on internal functions, ODM leaders said they will pursue change from inside the government as opposed to street protests and demonstrations.. “We have made the conscious decision that going forward, we will pursue change and reform from inside the government.. ODM has decided to be at tables and meetings where decisions that hurt our people are being made and to turn them into decisions that support our people,” said one
of the resolutions.. The delegates said they had covered much ground on ways to effectively deal with new tendencies, how to enhance membership recruitment, the identification and recruitment of potential bearers of the party ticket, the enhancement of party ideology and identity, the expansion of the party support base, improving relationships with the masses and grassroots networks, leveraging members serving in government and preparing for the 2027 elections.. In the statement, the delegates said they
had tasked the party secretariat to deploy and enable all regions to pick teams to scout, identify interested candidates willing to contest on the ODM ticket for all elective positions based on their ideals in relation to what ODM believes.. “We task the National Elections and Coordinating Committee (formerly the National Elections Board) to devise enhanced and fail-proof mechanisms for conducting free, fair, transparent and credible party nominations for all elective positions,” they stated.. The
forum also tasked the National Elections Coordinating Committee (NECC) to re-examine and devise means for identifying candidates for the nomination slots in Parliament and county assemblies following concerns raised with the party.. The Oburu team has also directed the secretariat to review and revamp the youth and women leagues to develop generational and gender mix when electing leadership of ODM to ensure young people and women are organically developed into leadership at all levels.
ODM retreat, Oburu Oginga, William Ruto, 2027 coalition, Hassan Joho, party primaries, Linda Ground