Oburu Oginga Heads to Busia to Re-energise ODM Party

By Kepher Otieno - Reporter

Kenya, 17 January 2026 - The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has shifted into high political gear, rolling out an aggressive nationwide grassroots mobilisation strategy aimed at consolidating its base ahead of the 2027 General Election, even as it cautiously flirts with a possible political accommodation with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

This is a decisive return to the trenches as the party seeks to consolidate its base and reassert its political relevance ahead of the 2027 General Election.

At the heart of this renewed push is Western Kenya — a historic stronghold that has for decades anchored ODM’s electoral fortunes and embodied the party’s democratic soul.

Senior party officials are set to descend on the region on Saturday, in a calculated move to tighten grassroots structures, expand voter recruitment and reinforce internal unity at a time when the party is recalibrating its long-term political strategy.

A media alert issued by ODM confirms that ODM leader and Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga Odinga will on Saturday (today) preside over a delegates’ meeting at Malaba Township in Busia County, beginning at 10:00am.

The meeting will also anchor a fresh party voter listing and recruitment drive, underscoring ODM’s determination to rebuild strength from the bottom up.

The mobilisation comes at a critical moment in what many within the party describe as a post-founder era transition, where ODM is learning to operate without the constant presence of its long-standing political fulcrum. In that vacuum, trusted party elders and regional power brokers have been thrust to the forefront to steady the ship and preserve the Orange identity.

Towering among them is Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, the former ODM deputy party leader whose influence across Western Kenya remains unrivalled.

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Though no longer holding a commanding position within the party’s formal hierarchy, Oparanya continues to enjoy deep-rooted loyalty and moral authority, making him a central figure in ODM’s regional political calculus.

For nearly two decades, ODM’s dominance in Western Kenya — from county assemblies and parliamentary seats to the Senate and executive offices — has been shaped by Oparanya’s organisational reach and grassroots resonance. In the absence of the party’s traditional anchor, he has effectively emerged as one of the key custodians of ODM’s political capital in the region.

Insiders say the intensified mobilisation is not merely a show of strength but a deliberate attempt to redeem and rebrand ODM’s image in Western Kenya, amid concerns that shifting alliances and elite-level negotiations could weaken grassroots loyalty if left unmanaged.

With ODM openly exploring a possible political coalescence with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), the party’s leadership is keen to enter any negotiations united, disciplined and numerically formidable. The grassroots campaign is therefore aimed at whipping members into cohesion, ensuring ODM approaches the bargaining table as a consolidated force rather than a fractured entity.

Oparanya has consistently urged party members to embrace unity in diversity, calling on them to remain steadfast and loyal as ODM’s top organs rethink how the party can remain relevant, influential and competitive within Kenya’s evolving political order. His message has been clear: ODM must adapt without unraveling its core identity, positioning itself as a key plank in any coalition arrangement rather than a political accessory.

Today's Busia delegates’ meeting thus carries significance beyond routine party business. It marks a strategic attempt by ODM to reassert control of its grassroots, test its organisational muscle and signal readiness for the political battles ahead.

As the 2027 contest slowly takes shape, ODM appears determined to prove that even in a post-founder political environment, its structures remain intact, its base energised and its Western Kenya bastion firmly under Orange command.