Funding ODM’s Linda Ground Campaigns has exploded into a political scandal after ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna publicly disowned the money behind the high-profile rallies.
In a rare show of open defiance, Sifuna questioned who is bankrolling the consultative forums branded as ODM events yet allegedly financed outside party systems.
His remarks expose deep cracks within the Orange Democratic Movement, raise fears of external capture, and mirror a wider regional climate where power, money, and intimidation increasingly shape politics, from Nairobi to Kampala.
Funding ODM’s Linda Ground Campaigns Triggers a High-Stakes Power Struggle and Tests the Party’s Soul
Funding ODM’s Linda Ground Campaigns now sits at the heart of an internal war within Kenya’s largest opposition party. Sifuna, an official signatory to ODM bank accounts, has flatly stated that no party funds have gone into the Linda Ground forums.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s The Explainer, Sifuna left no room for doubt. He said ODM headquarters did not release any money for the rallies. He insisted he has not signed off on a single shilling used in the events.
The Linda Ground initiative, spearheaded by Acting Party Leader Oburu Oginga and ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga, began last month at Kamukunji Grounds in Kibra. The forums aim to collect views from delegates on whether ODM should enter pre-coalition talks with President William Ruto’s UDA.
But Sifuna says the process already stands on shaky ground. He confirmed that the last official ODM expenditure funded the party’s 20th anniversary celebrations at the Coast. Since then, the party account has remained untouched.
By stating this publicly, Sifuna effectively accused senior party figures of running ODM-branded activities using parallel financing. That claim cuts to the core of party integrity and accountability.
Sifuna Draws a Red Line on Party Finances
Sifuna did not hedge his words. He said the money and resources on display at Linda Ground rallies do not come from ODM headquarters. He stressed that ODM finances remain tightly controlled by registered signatories.
He dismissed claims that secret donations from party officials fund the rallies. He explained that both he and Treasurer Timothy Bosire must approve any spending. No such approval exists.
When pressed to reveal the source of the funds, Sifuna pushed responsibility back to the rally organizers. He said he can only explain money he controls. Everything else lies outside his mandate.
This position has turned Sifuna into a political outlier inside ODM. The Oburu–Wanga faction has already held rallies in Kakamega, Busia, Kisii, and Nyamira. Each event deepens the mystery around Funding ODM’s Linda Ground Campaigns.
The silence from rally organizers only fuels suspicion. In politics, unexplained money rarely comes without strings.
Exclusion, Succession, and a Brewing Purge
The funding dispute overlaps with a growing leadership crisis. ODM Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi has also raised alarm after learning about Western Kenya rallies after they happened.
Osotsi questioned whether his exclusion was deliberate. His concerns gained weight after Wanga publicly claimed the faction had lined up officials to present at a future National Delegates Conference. She named several leaders but conspicuously left out both Sifuna and Osotsi.
That omission signals more than oversight. It suggests a planned reshaping of ODM’s power structure ahead of critical decisions on coalitions and succession.
Sifuna added another explosive detail. He revealed ODM is owed KSh12 billion by the National Treasury. This debt persists despite the Treasury being headed by a former ODM chairperson.
The claim raises uncomfortable questions. If ODM lacks its own funds, who benefits from financing rallies pushing the party toward cooperation with UDA?
Sifuna linked the dispute to broader reforms discussed during NADCO talks between Raila Odinga and President Ruto. One key agreement involved creating an independent political parties regulatory commission to oversee party funding.
Such a body would expose shadow financing networks. That prospect may explain the urgency behind the Linda Ground push.
Funding ODM’s Linda Ground Campaigns now represents more than internal party wrangles. It reflects a struggle over who controls opposition politics, who pays for influence, and who answers to whom. Edwin Sifuna has drawn his line. The rest of ODM must now decide whether transparency still matters.
