ODM Party leader Dr Oburu Oginga has declared 2026 to be a decisive year for the party, stating that the critical political decisions currently being made will determine its future direction ahead of the general election next year.
Dr Oginga said that the party has three options: to enter into a coalition with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA); to form new political partnerships; or to go it alone.
He said the decision must be made “soon”, not in 2027, warning that any delay would plunge the party into uncertainty and factional infighting that could weaken its electoral machinery.
Siaya Senator Oginga Oburu during an interview with NTV at Serena Hotel Nairobi on Thursday, October 30, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“We have stated categorically that we shall go to the next election as a coalition with other partners and if we don’t agree, we can go it alone as a party,” Dr Oginga said in his New Year interview on Nam Lolwe FM on Thursday.
“We have three options: continue as broad-based, go it alone, or join other new partners. These decisions must be made this year, not later. 2027 will be for campaigns.”
His remarks place ODM at a crossroads barely a year after Raila Odinga led the party into a broad-based working arrangement with President Ruto’s administration — a move that reconfigured Kenya’s opposition politics.
Dr Oginga insists that his stewardship is guided by one principle: fidelity to Raila Odinga’s last political decision as ODM leader, a move that has left insiders convinced that ODM is likely to forge a coalition with President Ruto’s UDA.
“Let’s stick to where Raila left us,” he said. “He left us in the broad-based government with President Ruto until the 2027 election.”
That decision — ODM’s cooperation with the Kenya Kwanza administration — remains one of the most contentious in the party’s history. To critics, it diluted ODM’s opposition identity; to supporters, it offered a pathway to influence policy from within government and to stabilise the country after months of protests.
President William Ruto (left) confers with ODM party leader Oburu Oginga during the Piny Luo Festival in Senye Beach in Nyatike, Migori County on December 17, 2025.
Photo credit: Alex Odhiambo | Nation Media Group
Dr Oginga says ODM is monitoring the implementation of the ten-point agenda agreed upon with the government.
The ten-point agenda spans inclusivity, devolution, public debt audit, youth empowerment, constitutionalism, equity in public appointments, and reparations for victims of protest-related violence between 2017 and 2023.
“In this new year, we want to ensure they are all implemented. So far, some have been implemented,” Dr Oginga said.
On compensation for victims of past unrest — a key ODM demand — he said the matter had stalled in court, despite the Treasury allocating funds through National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi.
“The courts have stopped the compensation so far,” he said.
Asked whether he feels he has stepped into Raila’s towering shoes, Dr Oginga was candid.
“It’s big shoes, but I’m trying to fit in,” he said. “I need support from those around me. Our people have shown love and support.”
He said ODM’s grassroots supporters had rallied behind him and that his immediate priority was to keep the party alert, united and active.
“We don’t want to sleep. We want to open our eyes,” he said. “We will not wait until 2027 to make a decision.”
Dr Oginga also addressed controversy surrounding a recent meeting held at President Ruto’s Kilgoris home and claims that it signalled a secret realignment between ODM and the Head of State.
He dismissed claims that such meetings amounted to selling out ODM or conducting secret negotiations.
“I don’t have to make noise when I meet President Ruto because we are in the broad-based government,” he said. “We can talk on the phone, go to meet him or he comes to meet me.”
Dr Oginga said such engagements were normal political interactions and pointed out that the late Raila had also maintained open channels with President Ruto.
“Nobody can sell ODM so long as I’m at the helm,” he said. “It’s too expensive to sell ODM, so I wonder how much it can be sold for.”
He described ODM as a mass movement with structures down to polling stations, saying rumours of a sellout were politically motivated distractions.
ODM Party leader Dr Oburu Oginga (left), President William Ruto and ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga share a cake during ODM@20 celebrations at Sarova Whitesands in Mombasa on November 16, 2025
He also clarified that ODM’s structures, not individual personalities, determine who participates in formal party organs.
“ODM has structures. Babu belongs in no party organ. Even Orengo,” he said, adding that the President has the prerogative to invite anyone to his private residence.
“I’m not aware. I have no evidence to say Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, my friend, wants to divide ODM,” he said.
Former President and Jubilee Party leader Uhuru Kenyatta gives a speech during the party's Special National Delegates Conference at Ngong Racecourse in Nairobi on September 26, 2025.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
“I will call him and ask him whether this is true,” he said.
Dr Oginga acknowledged that ODM was experiencing ideological debates, particularly over whether to adopt a ‘Wantam’ (one-term presidency) stance or ‘Tutam’ (two-term presidency) approach towards President Ruto.
“The only problem we have in ODM is Wantam, Tutam and whether ODM should go it alone,” he said.
Still, he expressed confidence that consensus would be reached.
“ODM is a big party with divergent opinions, but we shall reach a consensus,” he said.
On the future of the Luo political constituency, Dr Oginga said its fate was inseparable from ODM’s strategic choices.
“This depends on the decision of the party,” he said. “What the party organs decide, we shall abide by that.”
President William Ruto and ODM party leader Oburu Oginga at Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay Town during a sports tournament dubbed Genowa Governor’s Cup on December 28, 2025.
Photo credit: George Odiwuor | Nation Media Group
“No party is formed to be in the opposition,” he said. “If we get a way of capturing power, jointly with others or as a party, so be it.”
Looking ahead to 2027, Dr Oginga said ODM’s focus this year would be organisational strengthening.
“Let our people register as voters and as members of ODM,” he said. “Let’s not just be supporters but members.”
