NAIROBI, Kenya – Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has fired a political broadside at ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, declaring that the Luo community feels politically secure under President William Ruto’s leadership and will not be drawn into Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s “wild goose chase.”
In a pointed post on X on Tuesday, Mbadi dismissed Sifuna’s recent remarks opposing any political deal between ODM and the Ruto administration ahead of the 2027 elections.
As a community we are safe with H.E @WilliamsRuto, we can’t onboard @rigathi Gachagua’s wild goose chase.Regrettably, of late, we’ve heard someone claiming to be giving 2027 direction on behalf of ODM. I’m telling him he’s deluding himself. Only @RailaOdinga has that power.
ODM Rift Widens Ahead of 2027
Mbadi’s comments come amid growing tensions within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), where two rival camps — one leaning toward cooperation with the Ruto administration and another resisting any such move — are emerging from the party’s traditional Western and Nyanza strongholds.
At the heart of the rift is Sifuna’s firm position that ODM must oppose President Ruto’s re-election bid in 2027, a view that appears to conflict with Raila Odinga’s more conciliatory tone toward the Head of State.
Raila has signaled the possibility of supporting Ruto’s second-term ambitions.
The internal feud, which began as a difference of opinion on ODM’s political future, has now morphed into an open power struggle — one that could threaten to split the 22-year-old party ahead of a critical election cycle.
Some leaders from Nyanza, Raila’s political base, have accused Sifuna of undermining the ODM leader and called for his resignation.
They argue that his public opposition to a Ruto-Raila pact is disrespectful and out of step with the party’s evolving direction.
Mbadi, a long-time Raila ally and former ODM national chairman, appears to be positioning himself at the heart of the pro-Ruto camp within ODM — a group that believes political survival now lies in strategic alignment with the President.
