The Orange Democratic Movement has officially drawn the curtain on Edwin Sifuna’s time as Secretary-General, with the party’s top decision-making organ moving to cement his removal from the influential post. The Nairobi Senator, long one of ODM’s most recognisable public voices, has been eased out following a disciplinary process that moved through the party’s established internal structures before landing at the NEC for a final seal of approval.
Acting Secretary-General Catherine Omanyo delivered the formal confirmation, announcing that the National Executive Committee had ratified the decision to remove Sifuna from office. The NEC’s endorsement came after the body reviewed and accepted recommendations forwarded by the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Committee, the organ specifically mandated to handle matters of internal discipline within ODM.
Omanyo was firm that the entire exercise had been above board. “The process was conducted within party rules,” she stated, a declaration clearly intended to frame Sifuna’s exit not as a political settling of scores but as the outcome of a properly constituted party process. Her remarks signalled that, as far as ODM’s leadership is concerned, the matter is concluded and handled through legitimate channels.
The departure is a significant one. Sifuna had built a considerable profile within ODM and on the national stage more broadly, becoming one of the party’s sharpest and most outspoken operatives. His removal reshapes the internal dynamics of the opposition outfit and is likely to reverberate across the wider Kenyan political space, particularly among ODM’s base in Nairobi and the broader Luhya community.
The specific grounds upon which the disciplinary action against Sifuna was taken have not been fully disclosed to the public, with granular details of the committee proceedings remaining largely out of reach. What is clear, however, is that the process followed a structured, multi-stage path — progressing from the Internal Dispute Resolution Committee’s review to a formal NEC ratification before being announced publicly on June 22, 2026.
With the ratification now done, Catherine Omanyo remains at the helm of the Secretariat in an acting capacity. No substantive appointment to replace Sifuna has been announced, leaving the party’s administrative leadership in a transitional state as ODM weighs its next move internally.
Political analysts and ODM watchers will be keen to see whether Sifuna mounts any formal challenge to the decision or pursues other avenues. For now, the party appears resolved to move on, presenting a united front around the process even as questions linger about what precisely triggered one of the more dramatic internal shake-ups in the opposition’s recent history.
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