How Oburu Oginga Defused Tensions in Kakamega Over ODM Leadership

By Kepher Otieno - Reporter

Kenya, 19 January 2026 - Party Leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Dr Oburu Oginga Odinga stepped into Western Kenya at weekend fully aware he was walking into a political minefield.

Kakamega County, long an ODM stronghold, is now the theatre of a high-stakes internal contest pitting two rival centres of power against each other: Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera on one side and Governor Fernandes Barasa on the other.

Either choice would have alienated half the party. Oburu instead chose the more difficult, and ultimately more strategic, path—embracing both, while warning them of the cost of defiance.

At the centre of the standoff is the ODM Kakamega county chairmanship. Nabii argues legitimacy through numbers.

Speaking earlier at a rally in Butere attended by Cooperatives and SMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, he boldly declared: “I have the support of nine MPs. Governor Barasa has only three. ODM must listen to its elected leaders.”

It was a statement meant to settle the matter by arithmetic.

But ODM politics is never just about numbers. The party’s national office formally recognises Governor Barasa as the county chair, the official nerve centre “upon which party affairs orbit.” That recognition has insulated Baraza, even as Nabii’s camp insists the grassroots and parliamentary caucus are firmly behind them.

Complicating matters further is Wycliffe Oparanya.

Though outwardly neutral, political deduction within ODM circles has long pointed to his quiet alignment with Nabii.

That subtlety evaporated when Oparanya hosted Nabii’s allies and successfully lobbied Oburu to attend. It was the clearest signal yet that the former Kakamega governor was no longer sitting on the fence.

Oburu’s decision tor grace that meeting was significant—but incomplete. Almost simultaneously, he anchored the rival ODM gathering in Kakamega that brought together the party’s institutional heavyweights: Governor Barasa, Vihiga Governor Wilberforce Ottichilo, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, Minority Leader Junet Mohammed, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’, MPs, MCAs and senior officials led by ODM Executive Director Dr Oduor Ong’wen. The message from that forum was unmistakable: the party still has a centre, and it is not ready to fracture.

Speaker after speaker struck the same chord—unity over ego.

“We cannot destroy the house because of leadership contests,” Governor Wanga warned.

“ODM is bigger than all of us. When we fight each other, we weaken the people we claim to represent.”

Junet Mohamed was even sharper, issuing a cautionary tale from Kenya’s political graveyard.

“Political parties don’t collapse because of their enemies,” he said. “They collapse because of internal wars and personal pride. Let us not be remembered as the generation that broke ODM.”

Senator Kajwang’ appealed directly to the base.

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“Positions come and go, but the party remains,” he told the crowd.

“Stay put in ODM. Don’t be tempted by side shows.”

Governor Ottichilo reinforced the regional stakes, noting that Western Kenya’s bargaining power nationally depends on cohesion.

“Divided, we are weak. United, we are respected,” he said.

When Governor Barasa took the microphone, he chose reconciliation over triumph and rehtorics.

“ODM belongs to its members,” he said.

“Our differences must not turn into divisions. Let us talk, consult and move together.”

Then Oburu spoke—and drew a line without naming names. Calm but firm, he framed the choice facing Kakamega ODM leaders in existential terms.

“ODM has a voice, and that voice is unity,” he said. “You can either listen to the party, work together and move forward, or choose another direction and watch everything crumble.”

It was both counsel and warning.

By attending both faction meetings, Oburu neutralised a potentially explosive situation. He denied Nabii’s camp the grievance of exclusion, while reassuring Barasa’s allies that institutional order still matters. In doing so, he reminded both sides that ODM’s survival outweighs personal ambition.

For now, the open warfare has been paused, not resolved. Nabii still claims the numbers; Barasa still holds the party stamp.

Oparanya’s hand has been exposed, even as the national office maintains its official posture. But Oburu’s intervention has bought time—and sent a clear signal that the party will not tolerate a split masquerading as competition.

In Western Kenya’s volatile politics, that balancing act may be ODM’s last line of defence.