Deep divisions within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) have burst into the open after senior party officials exchanged explosive accusations over the handling of campaign funds during Raila Odinga’s failed 2022 presidential bid.
The public fallout, which has dragged former President Uhuru Kenyatta and his family into the dispute, highlights the growing leadership crisis within ODM following Raila’s death in 2025.
At the centre of the storm are ODM Secretary General and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and the party’s Director of Elections, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, whose bitter war of words has reopened painful questions about what went wrong during the 2022 General Election.
Sifuna Accuses Junet of Misusing Uhuru’s Campaign Funds
The dispute came to a head on Saturday during the burial of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya’s mother, where Sifuna launched a scathing attack on Junet, accusing him of hypocrisy and misappropriating funds donated by Uhuru Kenyatta to support Raila Odinga’s campaign.
In a fiery speech, Sifuna reminded ODM supporters that Raila posted his strongest-ever performance in the Mt Kenya region in 2022, securing more than one million votes — a feat he attributed largely to Uhuru’s support.
He openly thanked the former president for bankrolling the campaign, saying much of ODM’s campaign financing came directly from Uhuru.
“Lazima nitoe shukrani…unajua watu wengi wamesahau Mlima Kenya hii, kwa mara ya kwanza, Raila Amollo Odinga alizoa kura zaidi ya milioni moja. Na ndio maana mliona nikipigia Uhuru Kenyatta asante…kwa sababu alitusaidia. Mlitusukuma, lakini alitusaidia. Wengine walikula pesa ya Uhuru Kenyatta sasawa. Mim najua kama katibu mkuu, pesa nyingi ambayo tulifanyia campaign ilikuwa inatoka kwa Uhuru Kenyatta; alitusupport kwa hali na mali,” Sifuna said.
Sifuna directly accused Junet of now portraying Uhuru’s money as “dirty” despite benefiting from it at the time.
“Lakini sasa sai kuna mshenzi mmoja ametambua kwamba kuna ubaya wa pesa ya Uhuru Kenyatta. Nataka niulize Junet, pesa ya Uhuru ilianza kuwa mbaya siku gani? Siku ile ulikuwa unachukua hiyo pesa…na ata yote hukuleta kwa chama, ingine ulikula pekee yako na mabibi yako. Siku ile tutaanza audit ya uchaguzi wa 2022, ni vizuri umeanzisha hiyo debate kila mtu aseme ile kazi alifanya.”
Claims Agents Were Not Paid, Costing ODM the Election
Sifuna went further to allege that Junet pocketed campaign funds instead of paying election agents, leading to ODM’s defeat in key battlegrounds.
He claimed agents were abandoned on election day, allowing rival parties to sweep polling stations unchallenged, and insisted that ODM would be in government today were it not for Junet’s actions.
“Wewe (Junet) ulikuwa unachukua pesa ya Uhuru badala ulipe agents, ukawacha hawa wakatupiga 10-nil, sai tunalia huko nje. Kama sio wewe Junet, tungekuwa kwa serikali. So, mimi huwezi kunitisha bwana! Wanasema Nairobi, ukipata sponsor mpya, usianze kutukana yule alikutoa kwa bedsitter,” Sifuna stated.
He also dismissed suggestions that he could face disciplinary action, maintaining that Raila never endorsed President William Ruto for re-election in 2027.
“Hakuna mtu ambaye ako na uwezo wa kunifukuza ndani ya chama cha ODM…Hakuna siku Baba alituambia tuunge mkono William Ruto 2027, hakuna!…Baba aliniambia Kasongo (Ruto) 2027 home!”
Junet Fires Back, Blames Uhuru’s Inner Circle
Junet Mohamed responded swiftly with an equally damning rebuttal, shifting blame to Uhuru Kenyatta’s inner circle and accusing Sifuna of “moonlighting” for the former president within ODM.
In a detailed statement on social media, Junet rejected claims that he failed to deploy or pay election agents, arguing that responsibility lay elsewhere.
According to Junet, funds meant for agents were allegedly released by Uhuru to his brother, Muhoho Kenyatta, who then appointed a man identified as Peter Mburu to oversee recruitment and payments.
Junet claimed Mburu presented himself as an IT expert capable of detecting and preventing electoral manipulation by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), but ultimately failed to procure agents — neither in Mt Kenya nor in Raila’s stronghold of Luo Nyanza.
He further alleged that Muhoho operated from a highly restricted office in Westlands, so secretive that even Raila himself could not freely access it.
“These are facts, not conjecture. I challenge Uhuru Kenyatta and Muhoho Kenyatta to publicly deny these facts. The fact is once they took charge, they never procured any agents for Hon. Raila Odinga, not in Mt. Kenya and not in Luo Nyanza. It was a long con game,” Junet wrote.
Junet also rejected accusations of betrayal, arguing that Raila would never have appointed him Leader of Minority in the National Assembly had he lost Raila’s trust.
“Let the record also be set straight: Hon. Raila Odinga would have had no reason whatsoever to appoint me — Hon. Junet Mohammed — as the Leader of Minority in the National Assembly if I had truly betrayed him. For years, I handled all the delicate assignments from our late dear Party Leader with fidelity and diligence.”
ODM Crisis Deepens Ahead of 2027
The escalating feud has laid bare ODM’s internal fractures at a critical time, as the party grapples with leadership succession and strategy ahead of the 2027 General Election.
With senior figures openly trading accusations of corruption, betrayal and sabotage, analysts warn that the party risks further weakening its electoral prospects unless the disputes are addressed transparently and decisively.
