Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr. Mathew Owili issued a stark public warning Sunday, cautioning that deepening divisions within the Orange Democratic Movement risk undermining the party ability to negotiate effectively before the 2027 general election.
Owili, speaking during the consecration and enthronement of Rev. Bernard Enos Otieno as the second bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya Diocese of Maseno East, acknowledged his unwavering loyalty to ODM while conceding that the party has fractured into warring camps with sharply competing visions for the country political future.
A party divided over Ruto political future
One faction within ODM is aggressively mobilising to oust President William Ruto ahead of the next election cycle, while another bloc has moved openly in the opposite direction, lending support to his re-election campaign. That internal contradiction, Owili argued, has left the party leadership without a unified mandate and its rank-and-file without clear direction.
“The party has not yet agreed on who should lead the talks or what issues should be prioritised,” Owili said, adding that the current wrangles were both premature and counterproductive. He called on party members to pursue structured, binding negotiations before committing to any political alliance.
Owili pushes for formal, written agreements
The two-term deputy governor and declared Kisumu gubernatorial aspirant went further, urging ODM to demand that any negotiations be formally documented and signed by all parties — a measure he said would prevent backsliding or betrayal down the line.
“Negotiations must be properly written and signed so that nobody is allowed to breach them,” he said, calling blind alignment with any faction a dangerous gamble for a party that must preserve its bargaining leverage going into 2027.
Owili also pushed back against voices calling for the expulsion of dissenting members, arguing that exclusion would only deepen the crisis. He invoked the spirit of ODM founder, the late veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, as a model of political inclusivity.
Invoking Raila Odinga legacy of unity
“If Raila could lend a hand to everyone he disagreed with, nothing is impossible. In the spirit of Raila Odinga, let us come together and agree.”
Political analysts note that ODM internal tensions reflect broader realignments in Kenyan opposition politics, as parties jockey for positioning ahead of what promises to be a fiercely contested election. Owili public intervention signals that the rifts are now significant enough to require an open party conversation — one that, by his account, has yet to begin in any meaningful or organised form.
