Amisi, Sifuna convene ODM rebels for major declaration in Saboti

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 3 — A renegade faction of ODM, led by Saboti MP Caleb Amisi and Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, has promised a major political declaration on Sunday amid internal turmoil over the party’s pro-government stance.

The event styled as the Lukhome Declaration to be held in Saboti, Trans Nzoia, is billed as an alternative platform for disgruntled ODM members disillusioned by the party’s current working relationship with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

“We have already crafted a plan that this Sunday we will be meeting in Lukhome. Lukhome is going to go down in history as the genesis of a youth renaissance,” Amisi declared.

“We have assembled into one massive movement to change the country democratically,” he stated.

Fallout

The forum comes amid escalating tensions within ODM over its working arrangement with UDA.

Amisi has been particularly vocal, openly challenging ODM leader Raila Odinga to ditch his March 7 broad-based deal with President William Ruto that saw key party figures — including Cabinet Secretaries John Mbadi, Opiyo Wandayi, Hassan Joho, and Wycliffe Oparanya — join government.

He likened the current coalition to the 2018 “handshake” truce with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, which he claims yielded little tangible benefit for ODM.

Amisi warned that the party risks a full‑blown identity crisis unless its leadership takes decisive action.

In an earlier move to quell the simmering dissent, Odinga convened the party’s Central Management Committee to reinforce unity and address factional divisions.

Sifuna, like Amisi, has adopted a hardline stance, declaring the ODM‑UDA working agreement “effectively dead” over UDA’s alleged failure to honor the 10‑point joint agenda agreed between the parties.

The Nairobi Senator has become increasingly unsettled in the Orange Party often challenging the outfit’s official position on key matters.

On July 29, he announced plans for a joint technical team with UDA to steer the implementation of the broad-based deal following a Central Committee meeting even as he remained defiant.