This archive report was first published on 1 July 2019.
Cracks are emerging in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) following revelations of secret meetings between party leaders, including James Orengo, Jimi Wanjigi, and David Ndii, to sabotage the Building Bridges Initiative.
According to insiders, the group suspects that President Uhuru Kenyatta is trying to lure Raila Odinga into supporting Baringo Senator Gideon Moi for the presidency in 2022.
They are also concerned that the government did not allocate funds for the referendum, which they see as a sign of Uhuru's reluctance to implement Raila's wishes.
Insiders claim that Orengo, Wanjigi, and Ndii are planning to field an alternative candidate in case Raila falls victim to Uhuru's tactics.
At a recent meeting at Ndii's house, the group discussed how to ensure Raila looks hopeless in the eyes of his supporters, with Wanjigi arguing that the handshake has not benefited the party's financiers and that they will not have enough resources for their presidential candidate in 2022.
The group has been holding regular meetings outside the ODM party structure and has coined the term 'our candidate' to refer to an unnamed presidential candidate, with some signals suggesting they might back William Ruto if Uhuru and Raila front Gideon Moi.
