The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Oburu Oginga, has addressed internal wrangles, stating that no party members will be chased from the party amid the public spat and divisions witnessed among the party’s top officials.
The Siaya Senator made the conciliatory remarks during the party’s first official public rally at Kamukunji Grounds in Kibera on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, where the Orange party engaged the residents in a public consultative forum regarding pertinent party issues.
Speaking on the widely-publicized rift that has seen a section of party members and officials at loggerheads with a rival section demanding the ouster of the other faction over loyalty and allegiance to President William Ruto’s broad-based arrangement, Oburu clarified that despite the simmering division, no member will be departing the outfit over his ideological stance.
“Sisi hatuna nia ya kufukuza mtu kwa chama. Mtu akitaka kutoka kwa chama aondoke mwenyewe. Lakini sisi tunataka tuimarishe chama chetu. Tukiwa pamoja ndio tutakuwa na nguvu na kujadiliana tukiwa na nguvu,” Oburu stated during the rally.
He also addressed the party’s next political direction, stating that ODM remains committed to approaching the election cycle as it seeks to form a government in 2027, either as a single entity or through a coalition arrangement.
“Sisi tumeamua tutaendelea mbele vile Baba Raila alituacha kwa broad-based. Tutakuwa hapo mpaka 2027, lakini kabla ya hapo tunajitarisha kwa kujadialiana na vyama vingine. Ni lazima tuhakikishe tutakuwa pamoja na tunajitayarisha, “
He emphasised that a united front is essential to achieving the party’s long-term goals and charting its political direction ahead of potential deals with other parties for the 2027 elections.
The Kibera meeting brought together senior party officials, including party chairperson Gladys Wanga, deputy party leaders Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir and Simba Arati, among others.
However, Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, Deputy Party leader Godfrey Osotsi, and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino were some notable members who skipped the rally.
He has now challenged dissatisfied members to proceed with their exit, saying the party would move on without them as it pushes ahead with coalition talks, a stance that has further exposed and intensified the simmering internal tensions within the party.
His remarks come after he downplayed the rift in ODM as mere ideological differences during the party’s Central Committee Meeting (CCM) on Monday, January 10, 2025.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, Oburu described the ongoing at the party as a mere expression of divergent opinions as espoused by a party that professes democratic principles.
“Unaashiria kuwa kuna tofauti baina ya members wa party. Hamna, Ile iko in demokrasia ambayo party hii imeruhusu watu koungea maoni tofauti tofauti. Sisi tumeazimia kuendelea kuimarisha hiki chama na kitaendelea kuwa pamoja.”
The Orange Party has been rocked by a huge leadership crisis in the wake of its former leader, Raila Odinga’s demise on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, with party officials publicly clashing over the future political direction of the party.
