Oburu tells ODM dissenters: stop fence-sitting on Ruto alliance
Key points
- ODM party leader Oburu Oginga urged members opposed to cooperation with President William Ruto to take a clear public position rather than remain undecided.
- He spoke at the Monday Naivasha broad-based government retreat led by President Ruto, saying the party must know who supports the Kenya Kwanza arrangement and who does not.
- Oburu told members to raise issues “honestly” and not be “fence sitters” as ODM manages internal divisions ahead of the 2027 General Election.
- The remarks frame loyalty and open dissent as the immediate party test, not private grumbling about the broad-based deal.
“We must urge that let us be straightforward. If you have an issue that you want to raise, raise it honestly. Do not be a fence sitter. Decide where you are because we want to know who is with us and who is not with us,” ODM leader Oburu Oginga said at the Naivasha broad-based retreat, Eastleigh Voice reported.
Speaking on Monday during the retreat led by President William Ruto, Oburu challenged members opposed to the party’s cooperation with the Kenya Kwanza administration to stop sitting on the fence as divisions grow ahead of the 2027 General Election. He said ODM must establish who supports the current arrangement and who does not, and that concerns about political direction should be raised openly instead of remaining undecided.
Open dissent versus quiet resistance
The message lands inside a live coalition experiment: ODM figures sharing a table with Kenya Kwanza while other Orange networks still campaign as opposition. Oburu’s framing treats ambiguity as a party-management problem — not only a debate about policy — because undecided cadres blur who can be counted for mobilisation, nominations and manifesto work. He pressed honesty over silent resistance, tying the question of loyalty to the practical need to map allies before the next national contest.
For county assemblies and party branches watching Naivasha, the next signals are public statements, walkouts and candidate lists — not private WhatsApp threads. Politics desk: Politics. Related: 2027 elections political map hub. Verified venue, speaker and quote themes from Eastleigh Voice; no formal expulsion mechanism or named dissidents were itemised in the same report.
ODM’s internal scoreboard is now whether fence-sitters publish a position or keep benefiting from dual messaging into 2027. Until that clarity arrives, Ruto’s broad-based brand and Orange’s brand both carry the same risk: voters who cannot tell which side a leader is on.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of Oburu Oginga’s Naivasha remarks (Lucy Mumbi, 10 August 2026). Party positions evolve; quotes reflect the published interview/report package.
