ODM leaders led by secretary general Edwin Sifuna (second right), Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi, Siaya governor James Orengo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino at PAG Kawangware/HANDOUT
A section of ODM leaders has mounted calls for the party to
convene a National Delegates Congress (NDC), warning against any attempt to
remove Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as Secretary General.
The leaders emphasised that the NDC would determine the
party’s way forward, including its stance on an alliance with President William
Ruto’s UDA.
Speaking at a church service at PAG Kawangware, Nairobi, the
leaders decried external interference, saying there were concerted efforts to
destabilize ODM.
Among those present were Sifuna, ODM Deputy Party Leader
Godfrey Osotsi, Siaya Governor James Orengo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, and
Saboti MP Caleb Amisi.
Orengo insisted that ODM should field a presidential
candidate in 2027 and cautioned against entering any coalition talks with UDA
before the implementation of a prior 10-point agreement.
“We cannot go into any agreement before the conditions are
met,” he said.
Orengo also warned, “I want to state that if anyone tries to
remove Sifuna from ODM, that will be the end of the party.”
Defending Sifuna, Osotsi said the Nairobi Senator’s
statements are not defiance but instructions he received from the late Raila
Odinga.
“We lost our party leader Raila Odinga, and we are still
crying. We have people who now want to destabilize ODM, we have come out and
said we will not allow it,” Osotsi said. He added, “As Deputy Party Leader,
Sifuna has not wronged anyone and I will stand with him.”
He further stressed that ODM should consider fielding a
presidential candidate.
“Who said we cannot produce a president?” Osotsi asked.
Amisi weighed in with criticism of ODM party leader Oburu
Odinga, describing him as “steering the bus but cannot drive, he does not know
where the brakes are and he does not know where Baba was headed.”
Amisi likened some party leaders to passengers plotting to
switch vehicles without direction, highlighting internal tensions with leaders
like Suna East MP Junet Mohammed, and governors Gladys Wanga and Simba Arati.
He added, “We have said if Babu disembarks, people will go
out with him. If Sifuna alights, they alight. James Orengo too. That is why we
are asking for the National Delegates Congress; we want to know who is the
right driver.”
Sifuna also took issue with those issuing threats, saying,
“You cannot threaten your fellow leaders. They have never come to us to tell us
we have taken the wrong path and showed us the way. Baba told us our party
stands by the ODM principles. Our party respects democracy and the government
we form should respect human rights. Fundamental freedoms must also be
respected.”
He further reiterated the party’s position on political
alliances, saying, “Baba told us we work with like-minded political parties.
You must persuade me if our principles are the same as those of UDA.”
Babu added, “We are saying Raila never left ODM to go look
for other parties. Those parties came to look for Raila. And that is how it
will remain.”
He confirmed that if the NDC cannot be called, they will
mobilize 1,000 signatures and give them to the Secretary General, who will
convene the delegates congress.