Efforts to have ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna kicked out of the party’s top leadership have flopped following strong resistance from senior party figures. The move, which also sought to remove Sifuna as the Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate, failed after internal consultations and intervention from party elders.
Migori Senator Eddy Oketch is reported to have forwarded a proposal calling for Sifuna’s removal from both positions, arguing that the party needed a new direction in its leadership. However, the proposal immediately sparked sharp divisions within ODM ranks.
Sources say the intervention of interim party leader Oburu Odinga proved decisive in stopping the plan. Oburu is said to have urged restraint, warning that such a drastic move would deepen internal rifts and weaken the party at a critical time.
Sifuna has in recent months openly opposed the so-called broad-based political arrangement, a position that has placed him at odds with some within the party leadership. His stance is widely viewed as the main trigger behind the push to remove him.
ODM leaders, led by Senator Madzayo, strongly objected to the move, cautioning that pushing Sifuna out would seriously dent the party’s image and cohesion. They argued that silencing dissenting voices would portray ODM as intolerant and divided.
With the proposal now shelved, ODM appears set to maintain the status quo, at least for now. The episode, however, has exposed underlying tensions within the party, even as leaders publicly call for unity and focus on the party’s broader political agenda.