Ababu Namwamba attends ODM NDC
By Cynthia Lodite, March 27, 2026Kenya’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Ababu Namwamba, has attended the Orange Democratic Movement Special Delegates’ Convention at Jamhuri Grounds, Nairobi.
Ababu made his way to the event led by the ODM party leader Oburu Odinga on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Worth noting, the former Budalangi MP previously served as secretary general of the party before he was controversially kicked out. Namwamba also served as Budalang’i MP from 2013 to 2017.
Afterwards, ODM appointed Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as Secretary General, succeeding Namwamba.
The party, led by then-NASA chief and late Raila Odinga, announced leadership roles during its delegates’ meeting.
Ababu’s past ODM leadership
His attendance sparked significance one month after he dismissed claims that he was fired from his position as secretary general of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in July 2016, insisting that he voluntarily resigned from the party’s top administrative post.
At the time, Namwamba said he left the role out of principle, citing dissatisfaction with what he described as persistent internal party wrangles at the time.
He maintained that his departure was deliberate and remains one of the most consequential decisions of his political career.
“No one ever fired me from the position of ODM secretary general. When I couldn’t stand the everlasting party shenanigans, I had the audacity and honour to walk away, head held high, with my pride intact,” he said.
“I served with commitment and departed with a clean heart. It is the best decision I have made in my public life, one I have never regretted.”
A founding member of ODM, Namwamba said he remains proud of his contribution to what he described as the “Orange Dream”, but added that he moved on willingly. He urged party members to focus on revitalising ODM, arguing that its current fortunes are not comparable to its peak years.
“Please concentrate your passion and energies on strengthening the party, whose fortunes today are certainly not what they were in 2007, when we waged one of the most formidable political campaigns in Kenyan history, or in 2016, when I walked away,” he said.