ODM leader Raila Odinga is set to chair a pivotal management meeting on Friday to unveil a new leadership lineup aimed at filling vacant positions within the party.
The Central Management Committee meeting comes at a critical juncture, as the party faces internal tensions with leaders vying for top positions.
Raila will be walking a tightrope as his key allies compete for influential slots in the ODM national office.
Regions that traditionally support Raila are engaged in fierce competition for leadership roles, including the deputy party leader positions.
Section of ODM political players argue that the meeting is also seen as crucial to preventing a potential party split, amid reports that some heavyweights are threatening to quit if they do not secure top posts.
“The Central Management Committee will meet on August 9 to deliberate on key matters, including addressing the leadership squabbles,” said an ODM politician familiar with the planned meeting.
Raila’s current deputies, Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya, were recently appointed as Cabinet Secretaries for Mining and Blue Economy and Cooperatives and SMEs Development, respectively. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir are the frontrunners to succeed them.
Governors Simba Arati (Kisii) and Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi) have also expressed interest in the deputy party leader positions.
Arati, who is currently the ODM vice chairperson, is being considered for an elevation to the chairperson position by some factions within the party.
ODM MPs from the Coast region are sharply divided over the candidacies of Mung’aro and Nassir, threatening to fracture the party’s support base in the area.
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During a recent meeting with Kisii and Nyamira MPs, Raila reportedly indicated that the two deputy party leader positions would not be available to the region. Arati was present at the meeting, where Raila is said to have dismissed his bid, citing concerns over destabilizing the party’s regional balance.
Instead, Raila appears intent on ensuring that the positions are filled by politicians from Western Kenya and the Coast, the home regions of Oparanya and Joho. While Sifuna hails from Western Kenya, his political base is in Nairobi.
In a proposed lineup supported by some party insiders, Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi could be named the new Secretary-General, replacing Sifuna if he is elevated to the deputy party leader role.
The meeting will also address the vacancy in the chairperson position, left open after John Mbadi was appointed to the Cabinet.
Sources from Orange House have indicated that Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga could succeed Mbadi as the ODM National Chairperson.
However, there is divided opinion within the party between Wanga and Senator Moses Kajwang’, with Migori Governor Ochillo Ayacko also being mentioned as a potential candidate for the chairmanship.
Women leaders within ODM have recently increased pressure on the party to ensure gender representation in the top leadership roles, where key decisions are made.