Kenyan Senator Samson Cherargei has urged Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna to either step down or reform following comments he referred to as attacks on the wide-ranging government headed by President William Ruto and the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
On X, Friday, December 19, 2025, Cherargei stated that the party official was undermining the legacy of ODM and fostering disunity within the party.
“Omwami, I had assumed you’d had a Damascus moment about the successes of the broad-based government led by President Ruto and the late former Prime Minister Odinga, but it seems like it was just a lucid moment for your misguided attacks against,” Cherargei wrote.
The senator delivered a stern warning to Sifuna, telling him to either resign or alter his behaviour due to worries about internal party splits, and he urged Sifuna to join the unified opposition group.
You’re sabotaging the vessel from within and it’s unsustainable. Either submit your resignation as Secretary General of the ODM party or face removal, or improve your performance because you are now a potential threat to Baba Raila Odinga’s legacy. Cherargei urged his colleagues to join their counterparts in the fractured opposition.
The senator was responding to comments made by Edwin Sifuna, who had recently criticised aspects of party leadership while reflecting on priorities in government development projects. Sifuna’s comments emphasized how leaders often prioritize personal or local interests over national projects, potentially impacting governance choices.
The right mindset that will take us all the way to Singapore. When you gain power, you begin by improving your own situation. Do I want the road to my village paved? Elevating it to national priority status is not a priority over Bomas-Kiserian, for instance. In 2027, Sifuna said it’s time to eliminate dealers who believe that starting with themselves is the definition of leadership. In 2027, get rid of these dealers who think starting with themselves is the measure of leadership,” Sifuna said.
Sifuna’s statement arrives as debate escalates following President William Ruto’s criticism of Kalonzo Musyoka. The President stated that Kalonzo, who has been in a leadership position for over 50 years, never had a plan to repair the dusty road near his residence.
The comments were directed at opposition leaders who have expressed doubts about the government’s capacity to finish road projects across the country. President Ruto stated that their criticism stems from inadequate planning and a deficiency in leadership.
Some long-serving leaders have not improved even the infrastructure in their own communities, according to him. The President defended his road construction programme and brushed off concerns over the government’s ability to see through its projects.
The senator framed Sifuna’s inclination as internal sabotage to position his comments as a defence of the Ruto and late Odinga coalition, a unifying force in Kenyan politics.
