ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna. /FILEThe ODM party has defended secretary general Edwin Sifuna over his stance to slam a section of party members for supporting the broad-based government.
Sifuna has in recent days taken to calling out some ODM leaders saying they have abandoned the party's ideals of defending Kenyans.
"There are people in my party, ODM, who have forgotten where we came from. They have forgotten what the ODM party stands for and some are saying they are tired of fighting for Kenyans and they were not born to stay in opposition," Sifuna said on January 26.
The Nairobi senator said he would not be silent when he sees things going wrong, and challenged those within the party who feel tired of defending Kenyans to ship out.
"If you are tired just leave the party," he said.
His sentiments attracted backlash from a section of President William Ruto's allies, with some asking him to leave ODM if he felt the party no longer stood for the ideologies he stood for.
But speaking in an interview on Monday, ODM Executive Director Oduor Ong'wen said Sifuna's sentiments reflect the party's position and dismissed assertions that his tenancy in ODM could be long overdue.
"I don't know what you mean by borrowed time because all of us live on borrowed time in this world, but if it's about his position as secretary general, I can only say he has conducted himself with diligence as far as articulation of position of the party is concerned," Ong'wen said.
President William Ruto incorporated several ODM leaders into the broad-based government as he sought to quell rising dissent in the country sparked by the unpopular Finance Bill, 2024, which he withdrew.
During the burial of former Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) chair Roseline Odede on January 18, Sifuna said opposition leaders have a responsibility to speak truth to power and point out when something is wrong.
Sifuna said he had the blessings of party leader Raila Odinga to ensure ODM retains its identity as a defender of the people as he left to vie for the African Union Commission chairmanship.
"ODM is a party that will stand for what's right come rain come sunshine. That's the instructions you gave me. As you go to AU, whether you get it or not, I will return the party to you in the same form you left it," he said.
He added that he will not be intimidated into silence.
"If things are bad, I will stand and say things are bad," he said.
