ODM implosion: Who will save the once biggest party in the region?

The once-formidable Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has imploded as political flames that have been boiling in the last couple of months mount and leaders shift focus to pursuing personal goals.

The leaders are facing a herculean test to keep the party’s foothold across the country and prevent its rapid decline fueled by constant bickering, supremacy battles, an alleged leadership crisis and intense sibling rivalries.

Hopes of reuniting the party are growing thinner by the day, and the fissures are becoming more pronounced as new battle lines emerge amid a fight for the soul of ODM intensifies.

Personal interests and the push for survival by the party’s members who joined President William Ruto’s Cabinet as experts has only compounded matters for ODM, as the so-called experts push agenda tagged on their political survival.

Cabinet Secretaries John Mbadi (Treasury), Hassan Joho (Mining) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Coorperatives) are pursuing different political goals that sources claim has deepened divisions in ODM.

Joho and Oparanya are rallying their regions to front them for deputy presidency, while Mbadi is rallying his supporters to back him as a spokesperson of the Luo community.

Reading from the statements made by leaders allied to both the Linda Ground and Linda Mwanainchi factions of the party, the once-potent political force in the country is on a freefall.

This week’s retreat in Mombasa, which had been called by party leader Oburu Oginga and members of the National Executive Council to bolster unity, appears to have only deepened divisions as a war of words continues and a discreet plan to unseat Oburu begins to unravel.

Oburu did not attend the meeting and has opted for a low profile in recent days, further adding more anxiety to an already wounded political animal.

Yesterday, a senior ODM official told The Sunday Standard that Oburu did not attend the Mombasa meeting because he had a flu but has since recovered.

But as this happens, the calls for reconciliation among party leaders are becoming fainter while the war drums are getting louder as leaders reading from different scripts continue with the bickering over the direction the party should take.

The war is being fought in funerals, on social media, and at public events, with those who once shared tables to discuss ODM strategy opting to go for each other’s jugular. The thorn in the flesh is the push to work with Ruto as well as a parallel push for zoning pushes the party to the brink of a disaster.

Some pundits believe the noise in the party is healthy and keeps the party alive, but others claim the party is on a freefall and has already imploded.

“If it wasn’t alive, no one would bother with it. That is the issue with a dead party. No one fights for them,” opines Mark Bichachi, a political analyst. He says that the only question that remains is whether the feuding camps will come to a compromise and be able to move in one direction.

That hope, however, is slim. In Nyanza and Western, the battle lines have been drawn. The Linda Mwanainchi and Linda Ground factions cannot share a table, and the scramble to control the region is on.

The feud has pushed Siaya governor James Orengo against his colleagues, including Homa Bay governor Gladys Wanga, Migori’s Ochillo Ayacko, Busia’s Paul Otuoma and Kisii’s Simba Arati. They all view him as a disruptor who is working to drive the region back to the streets.

They do not see a future with him in ODM, a similar view adopted by Orengo and his allies who believe the current cluster of leaders in ODM are inept.

On Friday, Wanga, the chairperson of the party, claimed the party is on the right track, adding that they are working on a plan to storm Kisumu to display their political strength.

According to sources privy to the planning, the meeting is scheduled for Saturday next week and aims to counter the gains made by Orengo and his allies in Linda Mwananchi.

Wanga launched scathing attacks on Governor Orengo, who has declared himself as the People’s party leader and is also laying a claim on Oburu’s seat.

According to Wanga, the  push by the Orengo fold is aimed at driving the party’s supporters back to the streets.

“We will not accept someone who will mislead our people. They have been claiming that we sold the party. Where did we sell the party and how do you sell such a party?” she said.

Wanga claimed that those who are opposing them are only keen to ensure that their supporters return to the opposition.

Sources within the party also claim that the push to restructure the party is mounting on Oburu, with some members working on a plan to convince Oburu to shelve his role and hand it over to another leader.

“There is a general feeling that the party leadership should be younger to counter our colleagues. Oburu has the wisdom to lead the party but he has his own limitations,” said an ODM MP allied to the Linda Ground faction.

The developments have put Oburu in a precarious position as pressure mounts on him to restructure the party leadership by introducing younger and more vibrant leaders at the helm.

Still, sources say, the push to replace embattled Secretary General Edwin Sifuna is also on and the party stalwarts are mulling ways on how to strengthen the leadership of acting SG Catherine Omanyo.

Omanyo, who is struggling to fill the shoes of Sifuna, is on a mission to rebuild confidence in the party but is also facing criticisms from a section of members who believe she is struggling to replicate the bar that had been set by her predecessor.

According to insiders allied to the Oburu-led Linda Ground faction, discreet lobbying has begun in earnest by political players keen to breathe fresh blood into the party leadership to counter Linda Mwananchi faction.

Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has challenged the party veterans and the clergy to intervene but that, too, remains a long shot as the bickering continues.

Early this week, Ruth urged the party members to reunite.

“The ODM party is evidently at crossroads. The die is already cast. Those with ears will listen. Those with eyes are already seeing what is unfolding. There can only be one ODM or else...” she claimed.

As the development unfolds, senior party leaders have intensified their war of words. 

In Mombasa, Deputy Party Leader Abdulswamad Nassir has launched a sharp attack on the Linda Mwananchi faction in the party, accusing its members of abandoning the party ideals by aligning themselves with leaders who are allegedly opposed to inclusivity and development in the Coast region.

Speaking in Majaoni during the opening of the Majaoni Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centre in Kisauni constituency, Nassir criticised ODM members opposed to the party’s cooperation with President William Ruto.

He argued that their approach risked pushing the party into endless opposition politics as opposed to pushing for reforms from inside the government.

“We cannot be in opposition forever. Those in Linda Mwananchi have abandoned the ODM ideals and have allied themselves to those opposed to inclusivity in the country,” Nassir said.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has expressed opposition to the cooperation between his party and President Ruto and has instead launched the Linda Mwananchi movement to rally ODM supporters against the government.

Sifuna’s team includes Orengo, Emakasi East MP Babu Owino and Vihiga senator Godfrey Osotsi.