Omanga declares ODM dead, brands Oburu-led faction ‘pawa-seeking shell’
By Mustafa Juma, March 29, 2026Millicent Omanga, the 2027 Nairobi Woman Representative hopeful, has delivered a scathing critique of the Oburu Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) faction, declaring that the party she once revered is now effectively “dead”.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on Saturday, March 28, 2026, Omanga claimed that the Orange party died after the demise of its founder, Raila Odinga.
ODM is not the ODM we used to know. They might have been, because Baba was there. He is no longer there, so there is no ODM,” Omanga said.
She pointed to the two warring factions within the ODM party, the Oburu-led Linda Ground, and the Linda Mwananchi faction associated with embattled Secretary General and Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna.
Personal ambition
She went ahead to dismiss the Oburu faction as being primarily driven by personal ambition rather than policy or party ideology, accusing its leaders of seeking political leverage at the expense of the party’s foundational values, branding it as a shell.
“You can see there is “Sisi ni Sifuna”, which I actually support, and there’s another one for some psychopaths, and you know their agenda; the one which is looking for pawaa. It is a shell, so there is actually no ODM,” she argued.
Omanga’s remarks come amid intense factional battles within the Orange Democratic Movement, following the death of Raila and the emergence of rival groups that now threaten to break the party.
ODM hands Oburu power
Her remarks also come a day after the ODM party empowered Oburu to initiate structured negotiations with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) on a possible pre-election coalition agreement, during the Special Delegates Convention (SDC) at Jamhuri Grounds on Friday, March 27, 2026.
The party also formally confirmed the Siaya Senator as the party leader and handed him the instruments of power, including the official party constitution.
The symbolic move reached on March 27, 2026, signals a major transition within the party’s leadership structure and cements Oburu’s mandate to steer ODM through the politically critical period leading to the 2027 General Election.
Delegates at the convention overwhelmingly endorsed his leadership, granting him the authority to chart the party’s strategic direction and represent ODM in high-level political engagements.
The decision marks a significant shift in ODM’s political strategy and could reshape alliances ahead of 2027.