In a sharp and unapologetic response barely hours after the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) officially sacked Edwin Sifuna as Secretary General, former ODM SG Ababu Namwamba has clapped back at Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, rejecting claims that he was ever “fired” from the party post.
Mbadi, a key figure in ODM’s recent internal upheavals, had drawn parallels between Sifuna’s ouster and his own role in pushing out Namwamba years ago. During heated remarks amid the push to remove Sifuna, Mbadi boasted of convening a disciplinary committee that ensured Namwamba “left” the party when he allegedly became defiant, much like the now-removed Sifuna.
But Namwamba, now Kenya’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to UNON and UNEP, would have none of it. In a strongly worded statement that has since gone viral, he set the record straight with characteristic flair:
“Ndugu @JohnMbadiN, you cannot rewrite history bwana! No one ever fired me from the position of @TheODMparty Secretary General. When I couldn’t stand the everlasting party shenanigans, I had the audacity, the valor, the cojones and the honour to walk away, head held high, with my pride intact.”
The former Budalang’i MP emphasized that his 2016 departure was a deliberate, dignified exit—not an expulsion. “The resultant headlines of that valiant move are indelibly etched in history and cannot be erased by myopic revisionism,” he added. “I served with quintessential commitment and departed roho safi [clean soul]. And it is the best decision I have made in my public life, one I never have regretted once.”
Namwamba, a founding visionary of the “Orange Dream” that propelled ODM to prominence in the 2007 and subsequent elections, wished the party well but urged a return to its roots. “Though proudly a founding visionary of the Orange Dream, I moved on, happily so. Please concentrate your passion and energies on strengthening the party, whose fortunes today are certainly not what they were in 2007… or in 2016, when I boldly walked away in broad daylight.”
He concluded with a call for ODM to prioritize Kenyans: “May the MV Orange retrace its original compass and put Kenyans’ best interests above all else. Strong well run parties are the building blocks for a vibrant constitutional democracy. I wish ODM well.”
The exchange highlights lingering tensions within ODM, even as the party navigates its evolving alliance dynamics and internal leadership changes. Sifuna’s removal by the National Executive Committee (NEC) came after weeks of public rifts, with Mbadi and others accusing him of defiance and misalignment with the party’s direction.
Namwamba’s rebuttal serves as a reminder of past ODM exits that were framed differently by various factions—resignation versus ouster—and underscores how history remains a battleground in Kenyan politics.
As ODM looks ahead to its next National Delegates Conference and beyond, Namwamba’s words may resonate with those questioning the party’s current trajectory. For now, the former SG stands firm: he left on his own terms, pride intact—and no revisionism will change that.
