Wamuzi News Ke
There has been a sharp internal political fight within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), where senior leaders are trying to take away the powerful posts of party Secretary General and Deputy Minority Whip in the Senate from Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
Senator Samson Cherargei from Nandi Hills was the first to spark the debate on Monday, saying that Sifuna’s supposed political unreliability has made him unworthy of holding such high positions in the party.
Sifuna was accused by Cherargei of being disloyal to the party, who, through the support for the removal of the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, mentioned that Sifuna is practicing “deceit and hypocrisy.” Cherargei declared that ODM would get Sifuna out of his party and parliament leadership roles within a week.
Cherargei’s social media statement is a dramatic turn that closely connects to the ongoing tensions between Sifuna and other ODM seniors concerning the party’s direction and alliance strategies.
The senator claims Sifuna has distanced the party’s key stakeholders by opposing the so-called broad‑based government arrangement and getting engaged in politics outside the ODM’s mainstream agenda.
The escalating dilemma reveals the cracks that have long been buried within the ODM at a time when the political power struggle in Kenya is at its peak just before the 2027 general election cycle. The controversial Sifuna’s position was challenged directly by the ODM party youth league leader Kasmuel McOure, who was in a sense saying that Sifuna’s departure would not make the party weaker at all.
But Sifuna has been a loud and controversial voice within the party for months now, and he has constantly even been the one directing both the internal and external narratives about ODM’s alliances strategically.
In previous positions, he was the one who justified the cooperation with the ruling United Democratic Alliance and the critique of the roles taken by senior party members in the electoral campaigns, as he was the one stating these issues.
Political observers see the rift as not just a clash of personalities but a theological difference regarding the party’s identity and future strategies. It is thought by observers that the culling of Sifuna might plunge the opposition into a nationwide realignment of factions that could affect the dynamics of opposition parties.
All the above will be settled during the party’s discussions with the central committee and the Senate this week, and the determination of ODM’s leadership will be pivotal, as Sifuna may be formally kicked out, and the question of who will take the place of one of the most prominent figures in Kenya’s opposition will be raised.
