Africa-Press – Kenya. Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Oburu Oginga has slammed doors on any possibility of working with embattled Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.
According to Oburu, Sifuna has demonstrated a high level of indiscipline and disrespect, making it difficult to continue discharging his duties as the party spokesman.
He cited recent remarks by Sifuna to the extent that he cannot work under ‘mediocrity’, a slur Oburu now says was referring to him.
“This is a disciplinary issue. We can’t have young people who are not disciplined. He called me some name, saying that he can’t be in ‘mediocrity’, yet he wants to be my secretary general. How do I work with him when he doesn’t want to follow party channels?” he quipped.
On March 29, Sifuna told a rally in Tononoka, Mombasa County that it will be difficult to work under Oburu, especially having served under his late brother Raila Odinga for nine years.
“Siwezi kuwa secretary general wa mediocrity. Mnajua mediocrity ni nini? Siwezi fanya kazi na Raila Odinga kwa zaidi ya miaka tisa alafu nifanye kazi na mtu kama Oburu,” Sifuna said.
(“I cannot be a secretary-general for mediocrity. Do you know what mediocrity is? I cannot work with someone like Raila Odinga for more than nine years and later work under somebody like Oburu Odinga. ”)
Speaking during an interview with Hot96, the ODM party leader accused the Nairobi Senator of leading a splinter group within the party that operates through parallel channels.
He recalled that during the recent Special Delegates Convention (SDC) held on March 27 at Jamhuri Showground, Sifuna and his Linda Mwananchi brigade staged a parallel meeting at Ufungamano Hall, both events within Nairobi County.
Prior to that, the ODM party boss, Sifuna, declined to attend crucial party meetings such as the National Executive Council (NEC) and Central Management Committee (CMC) despite being invited.
When asked if he is willing to reconcile with the renegade SG for the sake of party unity and ODM’s future, the Siaya Senator dismissed the idea, saying Sifuna is not the Pope to be bowed to, while declaring that his Nairobi counterpart will still remain a bona fide member of the party.
When the party organises NDC, it comes with a parallel one. When the party organises central and NEC meetings, he does not come. He is invited to all the party functions, but he chooses not to come. What do we do? He is not the Pope. Do you want us to beg him? But we don’t want to expel him; we just want to show that anyone can be disciplined, unless he expels himself from the party,” Oburu posed.
When asked to comment about lawyer Paul Mwangi’s comments that the late party leader Raila had a plan B of an exit strategy in the Broad-Based Government, he downplayed the remarks, saying Mwangi was Raila’s lawyer and not strategist.
“I don’t know, because I don’t know Mwangi in politics; I only knew him as Raila’s lawyer and not strategist. I was personally involved in the strategies, and I don’t remember it and even if he had it (a strategy), he could have said it to me and not Mwangi. I don’t think that is accurate, but let him say his views.”
