Democratic Action Party (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa has revealed details of his recent meeting with Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya.

Speaking during an interview on a local radio station on Thursday, March 26, 2026, the outspoken former defence minister stated that Oparanya has been his long-time ally and that the meeting was purely strategic, aimed at discussing how their community could move forward.

According to Wamalwa, seeing the current challenges that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is facing, with a major split looming, he decided to consult his long-term ally Oparanya, who is also a member of ODM.

Wamalwa added that during the sit-down, Oparanya told him that should the ODM party break as it currently appears, he will join the Eugene Wamalwa-led DAP-K as his next home.

“After seeing the potential ODM looming split, I took my time and visited Oparanya, and we sat down and talked. I told him that if things go badly, he should come to the DAP-K party since we formed the party with him. I told him to come back home, and those were the details of my meeting with him,” Wamalwa stated.

He went on to clarify that whenever he is seen with leaders like Oparanya, who are currently aligned with the government, it should not be mistaken as him wanting or showing signs of joining the broad-based government.

Wamalwa noted his interactions with the likes of Oparanya are influenced by the potential split in ODM, and he wants members of the Orange party from the Luhya community to have a political home in DAP-K.

DAP-K formation

Wamalwa also explained how DAP-K came into existence. He stated that in 2021, in the run-up to the 2022 elections, he and Oparanya agreed to form a political outfit that could represent the aspirations of the entire Mulembe region.

According to Wamalwa, the DAP-K party was launched at the tail end of 2021, with both of them as heads of the outfit. They planned to ditch their former parties. Eugene, who was in Jubilee, was ready to leave the party and had informed its leadership of his plan.

However, when it came to breaking away from ODM, Oparanya’s late party leader, Raila Odinga, refused, insisting that leaving ODM would make the party appear as a Luo party rather than a national party, and he wanted to preserve its national identity.

Forcing Oparanya to stick in ODM, Eugene went ahead to establish his outfit, that has captured the attention of the Western region

“The DAP-K party was formed by Wycliffe Oparanya and me. I was ready to leave Jubilee and join my new party, but when it came time for Oparanya to leave ODM, Raila Odinga refused and told him that if he left ODM, it would become a Luo party,” Wamalwa said.

Oparanya ditching ODM

This revelation comes days after Oparanya, during the funeral of the late Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo in Lumakanda, stated that he was ready to leave ODM but did not disclose which party he would join.

The two leaders have been holding a series of meetings, with Wamalwa posting on social media that good things are coming.