Nairobi — ODM Leader Oburu Oginga has escalated the party's internal standoff with Edwin Sifuna, declaring the embattled Secretary General "is not the Pope" and insisting party discipline must prevail amid a contest over his removal from office.
Speaking amid an ongoing disciplinary process, Oburu accused the Nairobi Senator of defying party structures, skipping key meetings and running parallel political activities, saying ODM could not be held hostage by one individual.
"He is not the Pope. Do you want us to go and beg him? That because you are our Pope, we cannot do without you?" Oburu posed in an interview on Sunday.
His remarks come against the backdrop the move by ODM to oust Sifuna as Secretary General over alleged gross misconduct, and the subsequent challenge at the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal.
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Sifuna is accused of publicly contradicting party positions, including remarks made during media appearances where he reportedly described the ODM-UDA broad-based arrangement as "dead."
The party further accuses him of pursuing unauthorised political activities under the "Linda Mwananchi" initiative, and of skipping crucial meetings, including Central Committee and National Executive Committee sittings earlier this year--actions it says violate Article 11(2) of the party constitution and undermine cohesion.
Oburu echoed these concerns, arguing that leadership cannot function where party decisions are openly challenged.
"When the party organises NEC, he does not come. When the party organises rallies, he organises parallel ones... What do we do?" he posed.
'Fed up'
While maintaining that Sifuna remains a member of ODM, Oburu drew a firm line on leadership roles.
"We are not expelling anybody from the party... but how do you take leadership when you contradict everything that is agreed by the leadership?"
In a pointed revelation, the ODM leader also claimed the late Raila Odinga had grown increasingly frustrated with Sifuna prior to his death, citing an incident in Kakamega where he said the veteran politician was publicly embarrassed.
"What I knew is that Raila was not happy with what Sifuna was doing... he was fed up to the neck," Oburu said.
Despite the sharp criticism, Oburu signaled that the disciplinary push is not intended to eject Sifuna from the party entirely, but to enforce order within its ranks.
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"He is a bright young man... but let him not destroy himself. Let him cool down."
Sifuna was required to respond to the allegations by April 8 and appear before a disciplinary panel on April 10 but his lawyers petitioned for more time citing procedural gaps.
