Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has claimed that recent political rallies held under the party’s banner are not being financed from official ODM funds, raising fresh questions over the source of money amid growing internal divisions within the party.
Speaking on The Explainer on Tuesday night, Sifuna said the resources being used to stage the high-profile Linda Ground rallies are not coming from ODM headquarters, insisting he can only account for funds officially sanctioned by the party.
“I can state authoritatively that the resources you see being spent in ODM rallies, the so-called Linda Ground, are not coming from ODM headquarters,” Sifuna said during the interview.
Also Read
The outspoken Nairobi Senator, who is perceived to have fallen out with a faction linked to new ODM party leadership under Oburu Odinga, alleged the existence of parallel funding streams for activities branded as ODM events but which he says are not sanctioned by the party.
“I know for a fact that there is parallel funding for activities clothed in ODM colours, and they run around saying they are ODM delegates. Linda Ground rallies are not financed from ODM quarters or party coffers. That one I can tell you for free,” he added.
Pressed by show host Yvonne Okwara to explain where the money was coming from, Sifuna said the responsibility lay elsewhere.
“You will ask them. I can only account for monies that I am a signatory to,” he said.
Sifuna further dismissed claims that senior party officials were secretly bankrolling the rallies, maintaining that ODM’s finances are tightly controlled and that no official expenditure has been made since the party’s 20th anniversary celebrations in Mombasa last year.
“Forget this rubbish you hear people saying here. Timothy Bosire, the Treasurer, is also a signatory to the bank accounts, and the last money we expended as ODM officially was for the celebrations in Mombasa, and it was a fraction of what we saw there,” he said.
The ODM Secretary General also raised concerns over the party’s financial position, revealing that ODM is owed billions of shillings by the National Treasury.
“As we speak, ODM is owed a total of KSh12 billion by the Treasury, yet we are being told that my former chairperson is the Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury,” Sifuna claimed.
His remarks come against the backdrop of wider political realignments following the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) talks between the late ODM leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance.
Sifuna noted that one of the key outcomes of the NADCO process was an agreement to establish an independent political parties regulatory commission to oversee the regulation and funding of political parties.
“Baba, through NADCO, had agreed with UDA to establish an independent political parties regulatory commission to oversee the regulation and funding of political parties,” he said.
The claims are likely to intensify debate within ODM as the party navigates internal tensions and positions itself ahead of future political contests.