Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has once again stirred political debate after urging members of the Orange Democratic Movement to remove Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna from his position before the end of 2025.
According to Cherargei, Sifuna is allegedly acting as a mole within ODM and undermining the unity that the late Raila Odinga worked hard to build. His comments came shortly after the funeral of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Bondo, where tensions within ODM became visible during the speeches.
Cherargei accused Sifuna of going against what he described as Raila’s final wish for the party to cooperate with President William Ruto’s broad-based government.
In a post on X, he stated that every senior ODM leader except Sifuna had agreed that Raila wanted the party to work with the government for the sake of unity and development. He further claimed that Sifuna was standing in the way of that cooperation and was sowing division among members who were already trying to heal from Raila’s death.
The senator’s remarks came after a public disagreement between Sifuna and ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga during Raila’s final send-off. While addressing mourners, Sifuna reminded the audience that Raila had spoken clearly on September 22, 2025, urging party leaders to prepare for the 2027 elections. He insisted that Raila’s message was about political readiness, not joining any government.
Sifuna quoted Raila directly, saying the ODM leader had instructed them to focus on strengthening the party’s structures and listening to the people ahead of the next election cycle.
In his speech, Sifuna told ODM members that they must follow the people’s voice and avoid making assumptions about Raila’s intentions. He urged party leaders to stay calm, listen to supporters, and follow Raila’s last standing instruction which, according to him, was about preparing the party to compete, not merge. His position directly contradicted Wanga’s statement during the same event, where she maintained that Raila’s final message was one of unity and cooperation with Ruto’s government.
Wanga emphasized that ODM had to honor Raila’s call for national stability by working together with the ruling coalition.
Cherargei’s attack on Sifuna has widened the internal rift within ODM, raising fresh questions about the party’s future direction. The senator described Sifuna as the main obstacle to the growth of ODM and claimed that his removal was necessary for the party to have any chance of being in government in the future.
His statement has added more weight to the ongoing political realignment within ODM, especially after the party entered into a cooperation pact with UDA earlier in the year.
