NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 26 – The deepening cracks within the Orange Democratic Movement will be laid bare on Friday as two rival factions hold parallel high-stakes meetings in Nairobi, just kilometers apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one side, the party\u2019s official leadership will proceed with the Special Delegates Conference (SDC) at the ASK Jamhuri Grounds after getting the green light from the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other, a rival faction aligned to embattled Secretary General Edwin Sifuna will hold a parallel \u201cPeople\u2019s National Delegates Conference\u201d at Ufungamano House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two venues are just about eight kilometres apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tribunal on Thursday dismissed a case filed by Sifuna, ruling that he failed to first use the party\u2019s internal dispute resolution mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Tribunal struck out the complaint for failure to invoke the Party\u2019s Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanism,\u201d ODM said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a second case, the tribunal also declined to stop key party resolutions, effectively allowing the SDC to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPublic interest favours uninterrupted internal party process,\u201d the tribunal ruled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ODM welcomed the decision, saying it clears the way for its meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cConsequently, the resolutions remain in force and the Special Delegates Conference will go on as planned,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even with the ruling, the split within ODM appears far from resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A faction led by Oburu Oginga under the \u201cODM Linda Ground\u201d banner is backing the broad-based government and President William Ruto\u2019s 2027 re-election bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, the \u201cODM Linda Mwananchi\u201d camp led by Sifuna is pushing back, organizing its own parallel meeting in what it calls a \u201cPeople\u2019s NDC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rival camp has invited supporters to Ufungamano House from 9:00am, directly clashing with the official SDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The parallel meetings are expected to deepen confusion among ODM supporters, many of whom are already split along factional lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll affiliates of ODM took part in the elections and respect internal processes,\u201d the party said, dismissing ongoing disputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the rival camp appears determined to press on, signalling a widening fallout that could reshape the party\u2019s future even as hopes of reconciliation appear slim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ODM\u2019s internal crisis escalates as rival factions to stage parallel meetings in Nairobi as hopes of reconciliation appear slim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13976,"featured_media":797667,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4625,26],"tags":[1981,491,498,51489,51488,51490],"coauthors":[1753],"class_list":["post-797666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-national-news","category-top-stories","tag-featured","tag-kenya","tag-odm","tag-odm-linda-ground","tag-odm-linda-mwananchi","tag-odm-split-parallel-meetings"],"yoast_head":"\n