The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has declared the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ODM and the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party effectively null and void, following the death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang while in police custody.
Speaking on Citizen TV on Tuesday night, Sifuna said the tragic incident marked the moral collapse of the agreement, which he claims was already faltering due to what he described as bad faith from the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“On the day that Albert Ojwang dies in a police cell, to me this agreement is dead,” Sifuna stated bluntly. “Because it doesn’t matter what else you do, Albert will not be able to enjoy that.”
The Nairobi Senator revealed he had opposed the MoU from the outset, warning the ODM leadership that UDA had no genuine interest in respecting its terms. He accused President William Ruto’s government of exploiting the agreement as a public relations tool.
“They wanted a document they could run a P.R campaign around and say we’re together,” Sifuna said, clarifying that the MoU did not create a coalition agreement, contrary to what he termed as misleading messaging from UDA.
He added that the agreement’s intended purpose was to preserve life and uphold democratic governance. While acknowledging that political stability had been achieved to some extent, he lamented the continued loss of life, calling it a betrayal of the MoU’s spirit.
“The democratic state is being sustained, but our people are not getting there — they’re still being killed,” Sifuna said.
ODM has yet to officially withdraw from the MoU, but Sifuna’s remarks signal deep internal discord and raise fresh questions about the future of bipartisan cooperation in the country.
