![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/50f92579-3b14-4544-ad83-df5afdcaae2d.jpg\")
Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga speaking at a
\npast event \/ FILE<\/p>\n
Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga speaking at a
\npast event \/ FILE<\/p>\n
Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has publicly defended Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna following his controversial removal as Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General.<\/p>\n
Odinga stated that she opposed the decision and supports him in many of his actions despite party differences.<\/p>\n
Odinga, speaking in an interview on Wednesday, described Sifuna’s ouster as procedurally flawed and insisted the party should have followed due process, including granting him the right to defend himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI support Edwin Sifuna in many cases of what he does. But what the party feels is a different thing. I am one of the people who opposed Sifuna\u2019s removal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cEdwin Sifuna has been speaking his mind and has his right, and if there was any issue about discipline, he should have also been given the right to reply. Even in Shakahola, the accused people were also given a chance to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of ODM removed Sifuna on February 11 during a meeting in Mombasa, citing indiscipline and breaches of party protocol amid ongoing internal divisions as the party prepares for the 2027 general election. <\/p>\n
The NEC appointed Catherine Omanyo as acting secretary general.<\/p>\n
Sifuna has continued public engagements, including \u201cLinda Mwananchi\u201d tours, and has challenged the decision in the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal. The tribunal issued interim orders suspending the gazettement of his removal, with a full hearing scheduled for March.<\/p>\n
Odinga, who was present at the NEC meeting, revealed she voted against the motion to oust Sifuna, describing the process as a \u201csham\u201d that failed to adhere to the party\u2019s internal arbitration and disciplinary mechanisms.<\/p>\n
Her remarks come as ODM grapples with factional tensions, including differing approaches to grassroots mobilisation and speculation over potential pre-election alignments. <\/p>\n
Odinga cautioned against rushing into any pact with President William Ruto\u2019s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), calling it \u201cvery premature\u201d before internal issues and existing memoranda of understanding are resolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cODM is a formidable party,\u201d she asserted, urging the movement to first \u201cget our house in order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sifuna, speaking a day after his removal as SG, declared that he remains the Secretary-General of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). He\u00a0described the move as unlawful and procedurally flawed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have taken note of the announcement made by a section of the ODM NEC in Mombasa yesterday, Wednesday,\u00a0 February 11, 2026, purporting to remove me from the position of Secretary General of the Orange Democratic Movement,\u201d Sifuna said.<\/p>\n
He challenged the legitimacy of the decision, stating: \u201cLet me state, without fear of contradiction, that this action is illegal, unprocedural, and a blatant violation of the ODM Constitution, as well as the principles of natural justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sifuna argued that he had not been informed of any complaints or disciplinary proceedings that would warrant his removal from the position he says he still holds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt no time have I been informed of any allegations against me, be they of indiscipline, insubordination or incompetence in the execution of my duties as SG,\u201d he said. \u201cNeither have I been invited to respond to any complaints in and out of the party, on any matter that would constitute grounds for removal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga speaking at a past event \/ FILE Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[31],"tags":[80,2204,23901,54011,1222,98,100,353,101,99],"class_list":["post-94366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kenya","tag-kenya","tag-odm","tag-ruth-odinga","tag-sg","tag-sifuna","tag-star-news","tag-star-news-kenya","tag-star-newspaper-kenya","tag-the-star","tag-the-star-newspaper"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116101373279614835","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}