Removal of Edwin Sifuna on February 11 was found to be a methodically organised operation. Whistleblowers within the National Executive Committee (NEC) claim the Mombasa conference was funded through outside sources, with attendees paid “facilitation fees” to achieve a unanimous vote for Catherine Omanyo.
Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi confirmed these allegations, claiming that the agenda was “smuggled” in at the last minute following a secret midnight session between Dr Oburu Oginga and President William Ruto.
In an unprecedented display of “people power,” the hashtag #DeregisterODM trended on February 13.
Over 1 million members reportedly resigned through the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) site, effectively neutralising ODM’s bargaining power within the Broad-Based Government.
In Nairobi, Kisumu, and Bungoma, disillusioned supporters held “Orange Burial” ceremonies, burning party items and declaring that the party “died with Raila.” The turmoil has severely weakened the House of Jaramogi.
While Dr. Oburu Oginga claims that working with Ruto is for the “good of the region,” Winnie Odinga and Raila Junior have publicly supported the Sifuna-led “resistance.” Winnie’s attendance at Sifuna’s Nairobi press conference was a “nuclear signal” that the party’s founder’s biological successors do not recognise Oburu’s interim authority, isolating the “old guard” such as John Mbadi and Gladys Wanga from the youth base.
Senator Osotsi has offered a thorough timeline of what he refers to as a “hostile takeover.”He claims that the President’s advisers identified Sifuna as the biggest impediment to a 2027 UDA-ODM merger.
By removing the Secretary General, the administration effectively “decapitated” the party’s administrative head.
According to Osotsi, the next step is the March 27 National Delegates Convention, where ODM will be formally dissolved and its fragments merged into a new “National Unity” vehicle supporting Ruto’s re-election. Despite his expulsion, Edwin Sifuna has acquired a legal lifeline.
The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal has postponed his expulsion until February 26, giving him the opportunity to temporarily recover his office.
Emboldened, Sifuna and Babu Owino launched the “Linda Mwananchi” tour to rally the 1 million “deregistered” supporters into a new, independent political movement.
