Ruth Odinga has come to the defence of Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna following sustained criticism over his recent remarks questioning the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between President William Ruto and the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
In a statement, Ruth Odinga said the backlash against Sifuna intensified after his interview on Citizen TV, where he raised concerns about the source of funds used in recent ODM-linked public conventions, including the high cost of helicopters, large tents and branded merchandise.
“As a signatory to the ODM account, if he questions where all the money for choppers, big tents and ODM-branded T-shirts and caps in the ‘Linda Ground’ conventions are coming from, why should anyone abuse him?” she posed.
Sifuna had stated during the interview that the ODM party had not spent any money on the campaigns, despite estimates that the activities run into millions of shillings. Ruth Odinga said those attacking him should instead provide clarity on the funding.
“Those with the answers, why can’t you provide them? Are governors funding the campaigns? Are MPs doing it from CDF kitty? Did we get a philanthropist that a Party SG is not aware of?” she asked, adding, “And what is in it for the ‘philanthropist’?”
She argued that attempts to silence Sifuna were harmful to the party, particularly given what she described as the lack of political goodwill in implementing the MoU signed in March 2025.
“The last thing we should do, if we mean well for the Party, is to muffle the voices of people like Sifuna,” Ruth Odinga said, drawing parallels with Raila Odinga’s own history of dissent. “If indeed he is a ‘rebel’, then how many times was Raila Odinga one?”
Ruth Odinga also linked the funding concerns to control over party activities, citing Sifuna’s claim that ODM is owed Sh12 billion by the government as part of constitutionally mandated political party funding.
“The government has the option of releasing the funds to the Party, but when that happens, they will lack control,” she said, alleging that this allows organisers to determine who attends rallies and what is said, warning that deviation from the script attracts hostility.
She referenced the booing of Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo at a recent ODM event in Kisumu as an example.
With less than 30 days remaining before the MoU’s expiry, Ruth Odinga questioned the outrage over Sifuna declaring the agreement “dead.”
“If President Ruto does not honour an agreement he signed with a man he said helped steady a sinking Kenya, how sure are you that he will honour a pre-election pact?” she asked.
She concluded by placing responsibility squarely on President Ruto, saying, “The buck stops with the bearer of the signature in the MoU,” adding that March 7 would be a key test date.
