Stephen Musungu
Ruth Odinga has vehemently rejected the allegations that the opposition leader Raila Odinga had doubts regarding Senator Edwin Sifuna of Nairobi and has even gone as far as to fight against the comments of the political activist Oketch Sallah, who made the suggestions of the Orange Democratic Movement leadership being deeply divided among themselves.
Ruth Odinga went on to say that the claims were false and misleading and were made only to create a rift in the ODM party when she was already in a discussion with ODM members about its internal dynamics.
She further stated that the rumors of Raila’s distrust in Sifuna were not just incorrect but also disrespectful both to the leaders and to the party’s organizational structure.The statements are a direct reaction to Sallah’s claim that Raila had doubted Sifuna’s reliability during critical political times.
That claim very quickly got support and excitement to speculate about OMD’s leadership politics and even power conflicts. Ruth Odinga, who is a political mobilizer and also a close family friend of Raila, quickly took steps to silence the story.She insisted that Raila had complete trust in Sifuna, who is the ODM’s secretary-general, and dismissed the idea of internal disputes or hidden rivalries. She argued that there should not be exaggerated differences within political parties turning them into imagined feuds for political mileage.
Ruth Odinga cautioned that the assertions would mislead the public and at the same time weaken the opposition’s unity, which was critical at the moment. She told the people in the narrative camp that they were going after personal significance rather than the truth and that the internal party issues should not be twisted for political advantage.
Her answer points to the fact that ODM is becoming more sensitive, as the party is already in the process of battling for leadership roles, switching the generations, and positioning itself strategically in view of future national contests. According to analysts, the public speculation about trust and loyalty is a mirror that reflects the wider concerns about succession politics in the opposition space of Kenya.
The accusations against Sifuna have been rejected by his supporters, who are supporting his cause and referring to his constant defense of ODM positions both in Parliament and in public debates. According to them, the way he is always visible and his loud style sometimes turn him into a victim of political criticism that is disguised as insider leaks.
The whole thing has once again brought up the issue of how fast and unverified political claims can heat up internal tensions and take over public discourse. ODM officials have mostly ignored the dispute and the scandal, but Ruth Odinga’s involvement is a clear sign of a strong intention to mark a boundary and to safeguard the party leadership from what she called intentional misrepresentation.
The atmosphere in politics is getting hotter, and the observers say that the conflicts are reflecting the whole pressure on the opposition to show unity while at the same time conducting the internal debates. It remains uncertain whether the latest clash will fizzle out or deepen the divisions, but Ruth Odinga’s statement was clear: the rumors of distrust surrounding Raila Odinga and Edwin Sifuna are baseless and should be treated as just fiction.
