“Hostile Takeover?” ODM Warns Members Against UDA Political Moves

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has raised concerns over attempts by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to infiltrate its grassroots structures in Western Kenya.

ODM Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi said UDA has been drawing several ODM-elected legislators and officials from Vihiga and Kakamega Counties into UDA meetings. One such gathering took place on Tuesday at a hotel in Kakamega, where top UDA officials convened a session that included ODM lawmakers.

“Our members are being approached to facilitate and participate in the upcoming UDA grassroots elections under the false pretext that UDA and ODM are in a political cooperation agreement,” Osotsi said in a statement released Wednesday.

Osotsi revealed that UDA operatives have gone further by forming a regional presidential caucus that includes ODM members, a move he said violates both the Political Parties Act and the ODM constitution.

He described the actions as regrettable and conducted in bad faith, especially in the wake of the death of ODM’s founding leader, Raila Odinga.

“These developments amount to a hostile takeover and a grand scheme that includes sustained threats of violence and expulsion directed at several senior ODM officials who have dared to speak out against the premature and disrespectful actions,” Osotsi said.

The deputy party leader argued that no legally binding agreement exists between UDA and ODM, either nationally or at the grassroots level, to justify UDA’s ongoing political overreach. What currently exists, he said, is merely the 10-point reform package signed after the mid-2024 Gen Z uprising. He accused UDA of attempting to exploit ODM’s two-decade-old organizational structures illegally.

“It should be understood that currently ODM is a distinct political party, and it is not an appendage to the UDA party. The broad-based arrangement does not provide for how the two parties will handle the 2027 elections going forward,” Osotsi declared.

Osotsi urged ODM members to resist the infiltration attempts, which he called illegal and unconstitutional.

His warning comes as a recent Infotrak survey released Thursday indicates that President William Ruto is leading voter preference in the Western region, also known as Mulembe Nation, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

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