The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has announced plans to formally exit the Azimio La Umoja coalition, escalating a growing political fallout and signaling a major realignment within the opposition bloc.
Party leadership now argues that recent coalition changes pushed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta amount to interference and sideline ODM’s authority and influence.
Speaking in Mombasa during a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, ODM party leader Oburu Odinga stated that Azimio could not legitimately make key decisions without ODM’s involvement and approval.
He insisted ODM remains the dominant and most influential party within the coalition and therefore cannot get bypassed in leadership and structural decisions.
Oburu did not hedge his words. He declared that ODM already made the political decision to leave Azimio earlier and only delayed the procedural announcement.
According to him, what remains now is the formal exit process, which the party intends to complete soon.
He described Azimio as politically weakened and ineffective, arguing that it no longer reflects ODM’s interests or strength.
He told party members that continuing to remain tied to a coalition that makes unilateral decisions makes no strategic sense for ODM going forward.
A major trigger for the fallout centers on the reported appointment of Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to a coalition leadership role without ODM’s consultation.
Oburu rejected that move outright and said any leadership change made without ODM’s agreement carries no legitimacy from the party’s perspective.
He argued that ODM forms the backbone of Azimio in terms of support base, elected leaders, and national reach.
Based on that weight, he said no one has the political or organizational authority to restructure coalition leadership while excluding ODM from the decision table.
ODM leaders view the move as both procedural disrespect and political maneuvering designed to dilute ODM’s control inside the coalition.
The NEC discussion reflected frustration that external actors attempted to reshape Azimio’s leadership structure without internal consensus from its largest member party.
The planned exit will weaken Azimio numerically and symbolically. ODM brings significant parliamentary numbers, grassroots networks, and campaign machinery.
Losing that base turns Azimio into a much smaller and less coordinated outfit overnight.
The decision also points to a broader opposition fracture ahead of the next election cycle. Instead of consolidation, opposition parties now show open rivalry, distrust, and competing leadership ambitions. That fragmentation benefits their opponents and complicates any unified national strategy.
ODM now appears focused on regaining full strategic independence rather than negotiating influence inside a coalition it no longer trusts. The NEC stance makes one thing clear: ODM leadership believes staying inside Azimio under the current structure costs more politically than leaving.
If ODM completes the formal withdrawal, expect rapid political repositioning, new alliance talks, and aggressive messaging to justify the break. Coalition politics runs on leverage. ODM leadership has decided Azimio no longer gives them enough of it.
