ODM Officials Boycott State House Meeting, Leaving Oburu Oginga Alone

Senior ODM officials skipped a State House meeting for newly elected broad-based MPs, leaving Dr Oburu Oginga to attend alone.

A small group of ODM MPs-elect, Boyd Were (Kasipul), Moses Omondi (Ugunja) and Harry Kombe (Magarini), accompanied Oginga, while UDA legislators arrived with several senior party figures. The contrast in representation intensified questions about ODM’s internal cohesion during a politically sensitive period.

Interviews with party insiders indicate that the boycott was intentional. Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, deputy party leaders Abdulswamad Nassir, Godfrey Osotsi and Simba Arati, and Executive Director Oduor Ong’wen had met earlier at ODM’s Chungwa House headquarters but chose not to join Dr Oginga at State House. National chairperson Gladys Wanga did not attend either meeting.

According to party sources, the decision followed concerns over how the invitations were handled. State House reportedly contacted MPs-elect directly, bypassing ODM’s leadership, and issued a formal invitation only after Oginga was informed by the legislators. Officials viewed the delay as an attempt to weaken the party’s authority by portraying its MPs as acting independently.

Although some leaders later cited parliamentary duties and prior engagements, the impact of the boycott was clear. Oginga’s lone appearance was widely interpreted as a message that ODM expects its institutional role to be respected.

 Tensions were already elevated following events in Homa Bay during the Kasipul by-election, where Governor Gladys Wanga faced open resistance. Her deputy, Oyugi Magwanga, backed independent candidate Philip Aroko rather than ODM’s nominee, Boyd Were. UDA figures in the county also supported Aroko, despite a national agreement between President William Ruto and ODM to rally behind Were.

The campaign included violent clashes that left two people dead and several injured, exposing weaknesses in the broad-based arrangement. Were eventually won with 16,819 votes, but the internal dissent within ODM and UDA’s divided support underscored the difficulty of enforcing discipline within the coalition.

Wanga’s allies accused a senior government official of quietly encouraging the defiance, adding further pressure to relations between ODM and UDA. The episode raised doubts about the strength of the Ruto–Odinga pact in areas where local competition overrides national commitments.

ODM leaders later attempted to minimise the significance of the boycott. Nassir described the meeting as a routine lunch, while Osotsi said he stayed away because of Senate business. However, some ODM members noted that Oginga, himself a senator, also missed the Senate session that day, reinforcing assumptions that internal disagreements were the real reason.

UDA officials highlighted their victories in seven recent by-elections, including Kasipul, Ugunja, Magarini and Banissa, as evidence of broad public support for the coalition. ODM insiders viewed the results differently, warning that internal friction and unclear procedures pose risks to the coalition’s stability.

 At State House, Oginga emphasised ODM’s commitment to the ten-point broad-based agenda agreed with President Ruto and urged unity ahead of the 2027 elections.