Willis Otieno fires back at John Mbadi over remarks of auctioning ODM
By Joel Masibo, December 29, 2025City lawyer Willis Otieno has fired back at the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi over ‘political conmen’ within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) formation seeking to auction the party secretly.
Taking to his X account on Saturday, December 27, 2025, shortly after attending the National Assembly Minority Leader, Junet Mohamed’s sports tournament in Suna East, Mbadi cautioned the public against individuals presenting themselves as ‘angels’ while planning to sell ODM.
Mbadi further held firm that the current political alignment between the President William Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza government and ODM in the broad-based arrangement is the only route to take as the 2027 general election approaches.
ODM on sale
”They have deceived Kenyans far too long, presenting angel faces, how they are the voice of reason, yet underneath are political conmen. We won’t allow them auction TheODMParty. Nonetheless, we’ve played politics of theories & populism the longest; enough of the opposition route!” he said.
However, responding to Mbadi’s sentiments via X on Monday, December 29, 2025, Willis Otieno accused the Treasury CS of acting new in politics, as the sale of ODM takes centre stage, two months after its longest-serving leader, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, died.
”This reads like someone discovered political vocabulary yesterday and decided to use all of it at once without understanding any of it,” Otieno wrote.
This comes shortly after a senior ODM life member, Rachael Tabitha Machoka, earlier issued an open letter demanding immediate public clarification from party chairperson Gladys Wanga and elections director Junet Mohamed over allegations that the party is being secretly sold through clandestine deals at State House.
In the letter dated 5 December 2025, Machoka notes that recent public claims by political opponents, alleging that senior ODM officials have been “selling the party at night” and that deposits have been paid, are too grave to ignore.
ODM’s auction clarification
She warns that the continued silence from the two officials only deepens suspicion and risks eroding the party’s credibility at a delicate moment for ODM.
“Recent allegations publicly raised by our political nemesis, that senior ODM officials have been “selling the party at night” and that deposits have already been paid in these clandestine dealings, are not only gravely disturbing, but strike at the very heart of our party’s integrity and the trust bestowed upon us by millions of loyal members and supporters across the Nation,” read the statement in part.