By BOB WASWANI
June 26, 2026| Fresh cracks have emerged within ODM after Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi publicly urged Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna to leave the Orange party, saying it no longer offers a political future for leaders from Western Kenya.
Speaking in Vihiga on Friday, Osotsi said he would personally meet Sifuna in Nairobi next week to persuade him to chart a new political path.
“I will meet him next week in Nairobi and tell him the same thing. He should chart his own way,” Osotsi said.
The ODM Deputy Party Leader claimed the party had sidelined the Luhya community following the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, remarks that are likely to intensify debate over the party’s future direction.
Osotsi’s comments were quickly echoed by Mumias East MP Peter Salasya, who said he had long advised both Osotsi and Sifuna to quit ODM and join the emerging united opposition.
“Their eyes are finally opening up. It is time they joined the united opposition,” Salasya said.
Sifuna’s stormy relationship with ODM leadership
Sifuna has in recent months found himself increasingly at odds with sections of the ODM leadership over the party’s relationship with President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration.
The Nairobi Senator has repeatedly insisted that ODM should remain an independent opposition party, distancing himself from leaders advocating closer cooperation with the government.
Reports of an internal push to replace him as ODM Secretary General with Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo have further fuelled speculation about growing divisions within the party, although ODM has not formally announced any leadership changes.
Sifuna has also maintained that key party documents remain under his custody, arguing that he continues to hold the office legitimately.
His fallout with some party officials has extended beyond politics. A dispute over a vehicle gifted to him by Raila Odinga drew public attention before members of the Odinga family reportedly clarified that the SUV was a personal gift from Raila in recognition of Sifuna’s service and was not party property.
Growing anti-Ruto faction
Osotsi is among senior ODM leaders aligned with the “Linda Mwananchi” camp, a faction that includes Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o, Siaya Governor James Orengo, lawyer Karoli Omondi and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino. The group has consistently opposed any formal political alliance between ODM and President Ruto.
Earlier this year, Osotsi was assaulted by a group of individuals while at a barber shop in Vihiga. CCTV footage captured the incident, and police later charged suspects in court. The senator has maintained that the attack was politically motivated.
With ODM increasingly split between those favouring cooperation with the Kenya Kwanza administration and those insisting on maintaining a strong opposition stance, Osotsi’s call for Sifuna to quit the party is the latest sign that the battle for the soul of Kenya’s largest opposition movement is far from over.
The widening rift comes against the backdrop of an extraordinary political duel between President William Ruto and Edwin Sifuna that has played out in public over the past year.
At a funeral attended by ODM leaders before Raila Odinga’s death, Ruto declared that he was among the founding members of ODM and boldly vowed that Sifuna would eventually be kicked out of the Orange party. The remarks sparked sharp political debate, with critics questioning the President’s role in the affairs of the opposition party.
Sifuna has since hit back on several occasions, insisting that he has no intention of leaving ODM. Instead, the Nairobi Senator has declared that his political mission is to help send President Ruto home in the 2027 General Election.
With Osotsi now openly urging Sifuna to quit ODM while anti-government voices within the party continue to grow louder, the battle over the future of Kenya’s biggest opposition outfit appears far from settled.