ODM Party Leader Oburu Odinga / FILE
A key organ of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party is expected to retreat to the Coast on Monday for a crucial meeting to address recent infightings.
ODM Party Leader Oburu Oginga has convened the party’s Central Management Committee (CMC) to be held at a venue in a Kilifi hotel.
The CMC is scheduled to discuss, among others, the issue of a fallout pitting top officials, its fate in the Broad-Based government and a planned coalition negotiations with the ruling UDA party.
“There are many issues to be discussed at the meeting,” ODM National Treasurer Timothy Bosire said while confirming the planned meeting.
Bosire said the party’s position on the merging issues will be announced after the meeting.
“We will meet to openly discuss the issues that have been in public and come up with resolutions.”
Last week, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir, who doubles as the deputy party leader, revealed that he had petitioned Oginga to urgently convene the meeting.
Nassir’s calls were followed by a press conference by eight MPs, mainly from Nyanza, led by Minority Whip Millie Odhiambo and ODM Vice Chairperson Otiende Amollo, who equally asked for a similar meeting to discuss the differences.
“It is for this reason that we request our party leader, Oburu Odinga, to move with speed, convene the party’s organs and help restore public confidence in the party, before we begin to haemorrhage members to insignificant political formations. The current intolerance does not augur well for a revolutionary movement that Raila Odinga founded on the ideals of democracy, free speech and justice,” the MPs said on January 5, 2026.
The party has expressed sharp differences, mainly pitting Secretary General Edwin Sifuna against chairperson Gladys Wanga and Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, with the country witnessing a public spat between the two camps.
Sifuna is leading a camp that is opposed to any cooperation with President William Ruto under the Broad-Based arrangement, a position which sparked calls for him to be removed from the key office.
The push to have Sifuna fired was thwarted last weekend following reports that key figures who serve as ODM party Trustees, who include the late Raila’s widow Ida Odinga, intervened.
Ida’s influence was publicly displayed last weekend after she met a group of MPs drawn from Nairobi to mark Raila’s birthday at her Karen home.
“I have listened to Ida Odinga. There is no one in ODM I would not sit down with, no matter how many times they have insulted me. Mama Ida, you have asked us to sit and talk. I am very prepared; it doesn’t matter what happens between us, as Mama has said,” Sifuna said after the Karen event.
On Saturday, Oginga, whose legitimacy as party leader has been questioned by a section of members, said he is prepared to convene the NDC to address claims regarding the legitimacy of the party’s leadership.
“Those saying the leadership is not legitimate should come to the NDC. I am not afraid of it, and I will call it very soon,” he said.