Oburu ratified as ODM leader as Sifuna faction breaches police barricade, rejects outcome

Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga was on Friday formally ratified as Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader at the party's Special Delegates Conference (SDC) at ASK Jamhuri Grounds in Kibra, Nairobi, as a rival faction held a parallel meeting just eight kilometres away, amid a police standoff.

The SDC, convened by the Linda Ground faction, also endorsed Kisii Governor Simba Arati and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir as the party's new deputy leaders.

In a consequential decision, delegates ratified a National Executive Committee (NEC) resolution under Article 87 of the ODM party constitution, effectively giving the party a green light to open formal coalition-building talks with President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi was dropped as deputy party leader after delegates rejected his name during the endorsement process.

ODM Director of Elections Junet Mohamed said Osotsi's nomination was invalid because it lacked both a proposer and a seconder.

Osotsi had skipped the Jamhuri gathering, attending instead the rival Linda Mwananchi meeting at Ufungamano House.

Homa Bay Governor and ODM national chairperson Gladys Wanga warned against internal feuds.

"This moment calls for maturity. This is not a time for blame, wars or petty ego contests. It's a time to demonstrate that we learned at the feet of a great teacher," she told delegates.

The day's most unexpected moment came when EALA lawmaker Winnie Odinga, daughter of the late ODM founder Raila Odinga, appeared at the Jamhuri event.

Winnie had previously been linked to the Linda Mwananchi faction and had appeared at press conferences alongside Sifuna's team, making her presence at Jamhuri Grounds unexpected.

She stopped short of endorsing individuals but called for a party rooted in reconciliation and greater youth inclusion.

"I ask for the spirit of reconciliation, understanding, and listening, a spirit that does not chase away or force people out. A spirit that opens doors and lets us in," she said.

At Ufungamano House along Mamlaka Road, Secretary General Edwin Sifuna's Linda Mwananchi faction held what it called the 'People's NDC.'

The meeting proceeded after leaders breached a police blockade that had briefly prevented access to the venue.

Sifuna dismissed the Jamhuri SDC and announced he would not serve under the new leadership.

He also questioned how Oburu had been installed as party leader before the late Raila Odinga's body arrived back in Kenya from India.

"Who said that Oburu should be ODM's party leader? Did you elect him?" he asked.

The Linda Mwananchi camp argues that only the Secretary General, under the ODM constitution, can legally convene a National Delegates Conference, making the Jamhuri gathering unconstitutional.

The events followed a ruling by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal on March 26, 2026, which dismissed Sifuna's petition to block the SDC, citing his failure to first exhaust the party's internal dispute resolution mechanisms.

ODM acting Secretary General Catherine Omanyo said the party's internal organs would act in line with the tribunal's direction, signalling that Sifuna's formal ouster through internal processes remains on the table.