Siaya Governor James Orengo has accused President William Ruto of orchestrating the arrest in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
According to Orengo, the Head of State took control of the opposition party after the demise of its founding leader, Raila Odinga, in October 2025.
In a press address on Thursday, the Siaya governor claimed Ruto has been hosting meetings with ODM officials at State House and his Kilgoris home.
“The problem in ODM is President Ruto. We are asking Ruto to let ODM GO. Let ODM alone. He has not taken it hostage; he is in possession of the ODM party. He is convening meetings of ODM organs. Leave ODM alone,” said Orengo.
The governor reminisced about his engagement with President Ruto after he took office in 2022, where he warned him against killing political parties.
Orengo argued that ODM is a people’s party, hence should not be controlled by a few leaders.
He rebuked the removal of Secretary General Edwin Sifuna by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on Wednesday.
“The Secretary General of Raila Odinga’s ODM Party is Edwin Sifuna,” said Orengo.
He argued that Sifuna had been with Raila in critical moments and successfully run affairs of the party through two general elections.
“During the entire life of Raila Odinga and during the period in which Edwin Sifuna was the secretary general, there is no single moment that Raila criticized Edwin Sifuna in public,” Orengo remarked.
“I shudder to think that mere minions… people who have no legitimacy in the entire country can dare talk about Edwin Sifuna. Sifuna speaks for the party.”
The Siaya governor further claimed that the death of Raila, who succumbed to health complications at Devamatha Hospital in India, was not a sheer act of nature.
“I also want to say without fear of contradiction that the death of Raila Odinga…which is still a mystery to many of us… Those who bear responsibility for the death of Raila Odinga are out there. They are silent about it, but I hope that one day we will determine the circumstances in which Raila passed away,” he said.
As the storm continues to brew in ODM, besieged secretary general Edwin Sifuna has vowed not to vacate his position.
The NEC announced that ODM Deputy Secretary General and Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo will serve as acting Secretary General until a substantive office holder is elected.
Sifuna has also accused President Ruto of being the mastermind of his removal from office.
He maintained that the ouster is illegal and he is still the rightfully elected SG, claiming that his ouster was tied to President Ruto’s re-election.
He opined that the ouster is a witch hunt for not supporting President William Ruto’s leadership, and nothing lawfully warrants his removal from the role he had held for nine years.
