The late Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga’s sister and Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has come out in defence of Nairobi Senator and the ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna from attacks following his recent TV interview, where he questioned the source of funding for the party’s high-profile Linda Ground rallies.

Taking to her official Facebook page on Thursday, February 5, 2026, Ruth criticised members of the Orange party who have labelled Sifuna a “rebel” for publicly raising concerns over the management and financing of the party’s recent massive public events.

She highlighted that Sifuna had openly admitted on national television that ODM had not spent any funds on campaigns that clearly run into millions of shillings, fuelling questions about whether governors, MPs, or undisclosed philanthropists are financing the rallies, and what, if anything, they stand to gain.

ODM-UDA MoU

Ruth Odinga also raised concerns about the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between President William Ruto and her late brother Raila, signed in March 2025, stating that its implementation has been slow and lacking political goodwill.

She questioned why Sifuna’s declaration that the MoU is effectively “dead” is being treated as treasonous.

“In recent months, Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary-General Hon. Edwin Sifuna – alongside a group of party members and legislators frequently labeled as ‘rebels’ – has been at the center of a deepening political rift. This friction stems from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) established between President William Ruto and the late former Prime Minister, Hon. Raila Odinga, in March 2025,” Ruth stated.

“But it is the attacks following his recent interview on Citizen TV that have got me wondering how fast political allegiances can shift. He questions the very things we have been questioning despite the online attacks by (hired?) bloggers.”

Adding: “As a signatory to the ODM account, if he questions where all the money for choppers, big tents and ODM branded t-shirts and caps in the ‘Linda Ground’ conventions are coming from, why should anyone abuse him? He admitted on national TV that ODM Party has not spent any coin on the campaigns which run into millions of shillings. Those with the answers, why can’t you provide them? Are governors funding the campaigns? Are MPs doing it from CDF kitty? Did we get a philanthropist that a Party SG is not aware of who is funding the clearly expensive public fora? And what is in it for the ‘philanthropist’?”

ODM-UDA pre-election pact

She further cautioned members of the party that if President Ruto does not honour the MoU he signed, there is little reason to assume he will honour any future pre-election pacts.

“If the MoU has not been honored, with just less than 30 days to its expiry, what is so ‘treasonous’ in Sifuna publicly declaring it “dead”? And for the ‘Tutam’ choir members in ODM, if President Ruto does not honor an agreement he signed with a man he said helped him steady a ship called Kenya that was sinking following the Gen-Z protests, how sure are you that he will honor the pre-election pact you are all talking about? Will he use a different signature?” Ruth questioned.

Ruth has also urged ODM members to allow internal debate and scrutiny rather than silencing voices that question financial transparency, warning that political allegiances should not prevent the party from addressing legitimate concerns.