Omondi Declares ODM is Dead Under Ruto’s Influence
Suba South Member of Parliament Caroli Omondi has declared that the Orange Democratic Movement is no longer a living political force.
Speaking in an interview on Spice FM, the lawmaker argued that the organisation Raila Odinga built over more than twenty years has been emptied of its original purpose and now takes its direction from President William Ruto. He insisted the party exists today only as a name, stripped of the values, agenda and manifesto that once defined it.
Omondi stated the change has been years in the making. He contrasted the ODM of 2005 with the version that has operated for the past decade, describing them as entirely different entities. Even while Raila was still alive, he claimed, senior figures close to the party founder worked against his interests and answered to outside political forces. “Sometimes I used to ask him, where did you get these guys from? Many around Baba were working against Baba,” Omondi recalled, adding that some of those same individuals are now negotiating cabinet positions ahead of 2027.
According to the MP, a quiet plan is under way to present Wycliffe Oparanya, currently the Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and MSMEs Development, as a future deputy president in an attempt to claim that ODM is being revived. Other figures linked to the party are said to be lined up for additional government posts. Omondi dismissed the strategy outright, repeating that the party itself is already finished.
On the question of who actually controls the organisation today, Omondi was unambiguous. “The de facto leader of ODM today is William Ruto. He gives them instructions, he tells them what to do, they answer to him through Farouk. A lot of members don’t know this,” he said. He maintained that the president issues the orders and the remaining party structures simply obey.
Looking at the ground level, Omondi painted a picture of near-total collapse outside limited pockets of Nyanza. He asserted that the party has effectively vanished from Western, the Coast and Nairobi, leaving only occasional appearances in parts of the lakeside region. He further predicted that the rival Linda Mwananchi movement would soon establish a presence in Homa Bay, signalling the continuing erosion of ODM’s former strongholds.
