LUGARI, Kenya – The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has not made a decision on whether it will support President William Ruto’s re-election bid in 2027 or field its own candidates, party leader Oburu Oginga has said.
Speaking at the home of the late businessman and politician Cyrus Jirongo in Lugari, the Siaya senator said the party would first consult its members before taking a clear political position, insisting that any decision must be collective.
Oburu said ODM’s strength lies in its structures and membership rather than individual leaders, noting that party unity would be critical as the country heads towards the next General Election.
“I am nothing without you. You are the ones who make me party leader. I cannot claim to know everything, which is why we must consult our people,” Oburu said. “Once we agree on party policy, everyone must speak the same language.”
He said the party was focused on building a strong and united movement guided by a 10-point agenda that will shape its strategy up to 2027.
“The importance is the party and not about me as Oburu. We are building a 10-point agenda that will guide us to 2027,” he added.
Oburu said ODM’s immediate priority is to strengthen its grassroots structures, expand its membership and attract new supporters ahead of the next election cycle.
On ODM’s relationship with the ruling Kenya Kwanza administration, the senator said the party would decide closer to the polls whether to run independently or enter into a negotiated political arrangement.
“When 2027 comes, we will either go into the election as ODM on our own or work with others we are currently together with in government,” he said. “Any support will be through a negotiated arrangement that fully involves ODM.”
ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna echoed the call for unity, saying young leaders were prepared to shoulder the responsibility of defending accountability, justice and the rule of law — values he said remain central to the party.
“It doesn’t matter if you have built roads, but if we are living in fear, we don’t want those roads,” Sifuna said, in an apparent swipe at the government’s record on governance and civil liberties.
He added that ODM leaders would continue speaking out against injustice, even after the death of veteran opposition figure Raila Odinga.
“There is no one who will remove me from the truth, and no one can silence me. Even if Cyrus has gone quiet, we will still hear his voice through justice being done,” Sifuna said.
Since the death of Odinga on October 15, 2025, ODM has faced growing internal debate over its future political direction.
Some members have called for the party to withdraw from the broad-based government agreement reached between Odinga and President Ruto, arguing that ODM should return to the opposition.
Others, however, have defended the pact and publicly declared their willingness to support Ruto’s re-election bid in 2027, exposing fault lines within the party as it charts its post-Raila path.
