Suba North MP Millie OdhiamboSuba North MP Millie Odhiambo says the ODM party has inadvertently raised the political profile of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna by placing him in the same league as President William Ruto.
Speaking during a TikTok live session with her supporters, Odhiambo said she did not consider Sifuna a threat to ODM in the presidential contest because the party has no presidential candidate, while Sifuna is positioning himself for the presidency.
“I think we just upped the game for Sifuna and put him in the same league with the sitting president,” Odhiambo said.
She said Sifuna could, however, pose a challenge to ODM at the parliamentary level by taking some of the seats currently held by the party.
“The only threat he could pose to ODM is that he might take away some of the seats we had,” she said.
Odhiambo said opinion within ODM was divided over Sifuna's growing political activities, with some members confident the party would gain more supporters while others held a different view.
“The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We'll wait till next year and see who is right,” she said.
Sifuna has in recent months intensified his nationwide mobilisation under the Linda Mwananchi banner and left open the possibility of running for president in 2027.
In July, he said the movement was consulting Kenyans on whether to field a presidential candidate and that he would not reject the opportunity if it was collectively supported.
The Linda Mwananchi movement has expanded its political activities beyond ODM's traditional base, with Sifuna emerging as its leading figure.
Odhiambo also addressed her position in the broad-based government, saying she remained part of the arrangement and serves as the Minority Whip.
She described the broad-based government as a political coalition, arguing that parties often enter coalitions before or after elections as they seek to form governments and secure the presidency.
Odhiambo said political coalitions were particularly important in Kenya because politics remained heavily ethnicised, making it difficult for a presidential candidate to win without support from parties representing different regions.
She said ODM had previously been part of Azimio before moving into the broad-based arrangement following the death of former party leader Raila Odinga.
According to Odhiambo, ODM later decided to remain in the broad-based arrangement and, at a recent meeting in Naivasha, resolved not to field its own presidential candidate.
She said the party had instead settled on President Ruto as its preferred presidential candidate under the broad-based arrangement.
The Naivasha meeting came as ODM and UDA deepened their cooperation ahead of the 2027 election.
The two parties have agreed to develop a joint manifesto for the election, with a 10-member team tasked with drafting the common policy framework.
Odhiambo distinguished the political arrangement from development at the county level, saying Kenya's devolved governments have their own budgets and constitutional responsibilities.
She said counties can use their allocations to undertake devolved functions, while the national government retains responsibility for functions assigned to it by the Constitution.
