Oburu chairs ODM’s Central Committee meeting
By Mabonga Makhanu, June 8, 2026Siaya Senator and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Oburu Odinga has chaired a meeting of the party’s Central Management Committee (CMC).
In a statement shared on social media on Monday, June 8, 2026, ODM said that the Central Management Committee, which is tasked with overseeing the party’s day-to-day affairs, had convened a meeting to deliberate on various issues affecting both the party and the country.
The party stated that the meeting discussed several matters concerning ODM and the nation at large
“The Central Committee this afternoon held a meeting to deliberate on a number of issues concerning the party and the nation at large. The meeting was chaired by the party leader, ODM, stated.
ODM’s latest political moves
This meeting comes at a time when ODM has slowed down its political activities, with this being one of the party’s first major engagements since the Wabiro Kisumu rally. Earlier, the party had announced plans to intensify rallies across the country and launch youth engagement initiatives aimed at attracting more young people to join the Orange party, but it has not lived up to it.
The meeting also comes months after ODM’s last Central Management Committee (CMC) meeting in Nairobi, where the party resolved to suspend the coalition talks it had been pursuing with the ruling UDA party. At the time, ODM was expected to constitute a four-member team that was set to spearhead negotiations with their UDA counterparts, but the unveiling of the team was postponed.
During a presser, the party’s acting secretary general later explained that ODM would first focus on strengthening its internal structures before resuming any formal negotiations with UDA. During the same period, the party also complained about what it termed as attacks from some UDA officials and urged the ruling party to accord ODM the respect befitting a key political partner.
The latest meeting also comes against the backdrop of the ongoing differences between Siaya Governor James Orengo and ODM leader Oburu Odinga. Recently, Governor Orengo declined a proposal for reconciliation talks with Oburu that were to be facilitated by Luo elders, a move that would have helped ease tensions between the two leaders, who have increasingly taken divergent positions on several political issues in recent months.
ODM’s ambitions
The meeting also comes at a time when ODM has signalled its political direction ahead of the 2027 General Election.
ODM recently formally announced that it will not field a presidential candidate in the 2027 General Election, having instead deferred its presidential ambitions to 2032. The deputy party leader Simba Arati stated that it would support President William Ruto’s bid for a second term in 2027, with the expectation that he would, in turn, back an ODM candidate in 2032 after completing his constitutionally allowed two terms in office.
Deputy president slot
Meanwhile, earlier calls within the party for the running mate position in the 2027 arrangement appear to have faded. since, some of the leaders who had been viewed as strong contenders for the position, including Oburu Odinga and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, have already declared their intentions to contest the Siaya Senate and Homa Bay gubernatorial seats respectively in 2027
raising questions about who the party could eventually front for the country’s second-highest office.