Wamuzi News Ke
In a remarkable turn of events that has exacerbated the discord within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Migori Senator Eddy Oketch has stepped back from his highly publicized petition to have Edwin Sifuna, the Nairobi Senator, removed from his position as the party’s secretary-general.
This unexpected decision, which was released on a Tuesday, is a surprise twist in ODM’s already complicated leadership issue.
Oketch had already on Monday filed a formal request to the chairman of the party requesting the suspension of Sifuna, the removal of his whip, and even the deletion of his name from the party’s membership list, alleging gross misconduct, violation of the party constitution, and breaking the Political Parties Act.
In his letter of accusation, Sifuna was said to be weakening party unity, engaging with rival political groups, and letting out secret party matters that “considerably endanger” the movement’s name.
But on that Monday, Oketch, in strong terms, wrote a letter addressed to the ODM leadership through his legal counsel and stated that after imparting with senior party figures, including party leader Senator Oburu Oginga, he had decided to withdraw the motion out of respect for the legacy of the late founding leader, Raila Odinga.
The withdrawal is an indication of a change from punitive measures to utilizing the internal mechanisms for dispute resolution provided under Article 16(1)(g) of the ODM Constitution.
The shift in the situation happens at a time when the ODM party is already under a lot of pressure due to the death of Raila Odinga, which happened in October 2025, a loss that has made the party struggle with leadership issues that are just a few months away from the 2027 general election.
On the other hand, Oketch’s previous petition had been met with very strong disapproval by a number of party members, with Suba South MP Caroli Omondi being particularly vocal in warning that the complaint was groundless from a legal point of view and could end up hurting some people’s reputations if it continued.
ODM Communications Director Philip Etale had also gone as far as to say that the rumors regarding an organized plan to get rid of Sifuna were completely false and the motion was merely isolated and did not reflect the overall sentiment of the party.
