Oburu slams Uhuru over Azimio reshuffle

Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga speaking at a funeral of Paul Richard Oudia Okello in Usenge,Bondo,Siaya county. [Michael Mute, Standard]

ODM party leader Oburu Odinga has criticised a recent leadership shake-up in the Azimio coalition, saying they were not consulted.

Speaking during ODM’s NEC meeting in Mombasa, Oburu said the party, which he described as the majority outfit in Azimio, had been sidelined in key decisions, including the appointment of new coalition leaders, and would soon formally exit the coalition.

“This thing called Azimio. We are the Azimio. The majority, the strongest party in Azimio, was ourselves as ODM. There is nobody who can make a decision in Azimio without the concurrence of ODM,” he said.

He added: “You cannot purport to appoint a new leader of Azimio, excluding and bypassing this party called ODM. If ODM has not agreed, then there is nothing like a resolution of Azimio.”

His remarks come days after a coalition restructuring that saw Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka appointed Azimio party leader, replacing the late Raila Odinga, in changes announced after a meeting chaired by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The shake-up also saw Junet Mohamed removed as secretary general and replaced by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, while former Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia was named executive director.

However, according to Oburu, despite the changes, the coalition had effectively ceased to exist after ODM’s departure and the party would soon formalise its exit.

“In fact, Azimio was dead when ODM left it. We left it a long time ago. It is only a formality that we have not performed and which we are going to perform very soon. We are going to exit that moribund organisation called Azimio,” he said.

“Azimio was dead when ODM left; we exited long ago,” says Oburu Oginga pic.twitter.com/RU7kN4PxFI — The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) February 11, 2026

The new party leader also called for discipline within ODM, cautioning members against contradicting official party positions in public.

“It is not right for me as a party leader to go out and shout what was not agreed and what is my own personal view and say it is my democratic right. Democracy does not mean chaos. Democracy must have some discipline,” he said.

His remarks come amid an ongoing rift within the party leadership, with a section siding with the broad-based government and another pushing for independence from President William Ruto.