Kisumu County Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has urged the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to return to its founding ideals of constitutionalism, transparency and social justice as the party marks 20 years since its formation.
In a statement on Sunday, March 8, 2026, Nyong’o said the party born from resistance during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum and shaped by the leadership of the late Raila Amollo Odinga must resist ethnic politics and short-term power deals that risk weakening its reform agenda.
Nyong’o, who served as ODM’s pioneer Secretary General, reflected on the party’s origins, describing it as a movement born out of “historical necessity” rather than political convenience.
“I write not merely as a commentator on history, but as one who stood at the birth of this Movement… as its pioneer Emeritus Secretary General,” he said, noting that political movements are “products of moral necessity.”
The Kisumu governor paid tribute to Odinga, describing him as a nationalist who believed Kenya should be united by justice rather than tribal politics.
“He was not simply a politician; he was a nationalist in the truest sense: a man who believed Kenya must be united not by the arithmetic of tribes, but by the architecture of justice,” Nyong’o said.
According to the governor, the 2005 referendum was a defining moment that exposed the contradictions in Kenya’s governance structure at the time, particularly the concentration of power in the presidency.
“Kenyans were asked to endorse a draft constitution that promised reform but preserved excessive presidential authority: authority without accountability, power without restraint,” he said.
Nyong’o argued that ODM emerged from that moment as a political expression of national awakening, committed to dismantling centralized power and advancing constitutional reforms that later culminated in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
“The 2010 Constitution fundamentally altered this structure. It reduced and dispersed power, strengthened Parliament, empowered the Judiciary, and entrenched devolution,” he noted.
However, Nyong’o cautioned that the progress made since then should not lead to complacency, warning that corruption, inequality and ethnic mobilisation remain persistent challenges.
“At 20, ODM must ask uncomfortable questions: Have we dismantled the over-centralised Executive? Eradicated corruption? Ensured devolution works for every village?” he posed.
He emphasized that internal debate and generational renewal within the party should be viewed as signs of vitality rather than division.
“Generational contest within ODM should refine, not frighten us. Internal competition is vitality, not decay,” Nyong’o said.
The governor urged party members to remain faithful to the ideals that shaped the movement, warning that abandoning them would erode ODM’s identity.
“If we abandon the moral vocabulary of reform, we become indistinguishable from those we once opposed,” he said.
Nyong’o concluded by calling on ODM to remain a “vigilant force” in safeguarding democracy, defending devolution and advancing a nationalism that transcends ethnic politics in Kenya.
His statement comes amid growing divisions within the Orange Democratic Movement, with one faction led by party leader Oburu Oginga backing the party’s cooperation with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, while another group led by embattled Secretary General Edwin Sifuna opposing the arrangement.