Willis Raburu tells ODM to fix its identity before borrowing UDA’s brand
By Kiprono Keileb, January 28, 2026Renowned media personality Willis Raburu has urged the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to reassess its core identity and values before borrowing strategies or rhetoric from other political parties.
In a statement shared on X on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Raburu highlights the need for ideological clarity and internal coherence within the party. Raburu questioned the party’s current direction and its focus on adopting slogans and campaigns associated with rival political outfits.
“ODM needs to ask itself what its identity is? What is at its core? You cannot, as a party move around the country popularizing another party ethos. What Winnie said is true: ODM needs to put its house in order first. Not just move around the country shouting Tutam and broad-based. What does the party stand for outside of UDA?” Raburu said.
He stressed that this moment presents an opportunity for the party to return to its founding principles and reestablish itself as a force grounded in social justice, democracy, and people-centred governance.
“Its is an opportune and unavoidable moment for the Orange Democratic Movement to undertake a deliberate process of ideological re-anchoring and institutional recalibration, aimed at restoring the party to its foundational ethos and normative compass. This moment calls for a reassertion of core values, a recommitment to ethical clarity, and a revival of the party’s historic mandate as a vehicle for social justice, participatory democracy, and people-centred governance,” he wrote.
Raburu also warned against personality-driven politics, urging ODM to prioritise principles over short-term gains or expediency.
“ODM must consciously transcend personality-driven politics and re-embed itself within a values-based framework that privileges principle over expediency. Strengthening the party, therefore, is not merely an exercise in organisational expansion or electoral arithmetic. It requires the rebuilding of internal coherence, the enforcement of ethical standards, and the revitalisation of grassroots legitimacy as the moral bedrock upon which political authority is derived,” he said.
He concluded by noting that once the party has reestablished its core values and internal strength, it can then explore partnerships or alliances if necessary.
“After all this, then now look for suitors, if need be,” Raburu said.