Kaluma warns ODM rebels seeking to join UDA ahead of 2027 polls
By Mustafa Juma, February 5, 2026Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Kaluma has issued a stern warning to politicians from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party strongholds who are defecting to the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in pursuit of elective seats.
Taking to his official X account on the night of Wednesday, February 4, 2026, Kaluma cautioned that self-serving political manoeuvres would not be tolerated ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
The lawmaker emphasised that the upcoming ODM-UDA coalition is determined to maintain strategic control in key regions.
“Those political rejects from @TheODMparty strongholds who joined @UDAKenya as Aspirants for various seats should know we are too sharp for their self-seeking chicanery. Government is led from Parliament,” Kaluma stated.
UDA-ODM coalition strategy
He outlined the coalition’s strategy, noting that it aims to secure at least 75 per cent of parliamentary seats in the next elections.
Under the arrangement, ODM will refrain from fielding gubernatorial and parliamentary candidates in UDA-dominated areas, while UDA will do the same in ODM strongholds.
Kaluma’s preconditions for UDA-ODM deal
The move, Kaluma said, is designed to prevent vote splitting and block competing political formations from gaining critical positions.
“The ODM-UDA pre-election coalition must have at least 75% of the MPs in the next election. For this to happen, ODM will not field gubernatorial and parliamentary candidates in UDA Bases, just as UDA will not field candidates in the ODM Party strongholds – to avoid splitting votes and allowing competing political formation(s) to win those critical leadership seats,” he stated.
Kaluma’s remarks come days after he outlined key conditions that he insisted must be met for the ODM-UDA agreement to succeed.
Addressing the media on Sunday, January 1, 2026, Kaluma said that while ODM is open to discussions aimed at forming a strong pre-election coalition, the party will maintain its distinct identity and political autonomy throughout the process.
“Once we are done with those negotiations, and I hope they end well, we will go into a pre-election coalition so that we have a strong voice in the government that will be formed. If we don’t agree, then we will run for elections as ODM,” Kaluma said.
First, Kaluma claims that ODM must remain a distinct and separate political party in Kenya even after entering a deal with the ruling UDA party.
Second, Kaluma says the party’s bases and strongholds must be reinforced and left intact. According to the ODM lawmaker, this means zoning and allocation of seats must respect ODM’s territorial and political strongholds.
He went ahead to argue that breach of any of the preconditions will make the ODM party fault the agreement with UDA and collapse the negotiations.