Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya has admitted that internal wrangles within ODM are complicating efforts to mobilise support for President William Ruto ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Oparanya, who joined President Ruto’s Cabinet in 2024 as part of efforts to strengthen support in the Western Kenya region, said divisions within ODM were undermining grassroots mobilisation in one of the country’s key voting blocs.
Speaking in Swahili during a public event on Saturday, the former Kakamega governor criticised the expulsion and disciplinary actions targeting ODM members who accepted positions in the broad-based government arrangement.
“Hii mambo ya kufukuza watu inafanya kazi yetu kuwa ngumu,” Oparanya said, loosely translated as: “This issue of expelling people is making our work difficult.”
He urged ODM leaders to end internal conflicts and embrace political tolerance to ease campaign coordination efforts in Western Kenya, a region with more than two million registered voters and considered critical in determining the outcome of national elections.
“We need unity if we are to move forward politically,” he added.
The remarks immediately sparked intense online debate, with critics and supporters interpreting them as a sign of mounting political pressure facing President Ruto’s re-election bid.
Some social media users cited Oparanya’s comments as evidence that the “wantam” narrative — popular slang implying a one-term presidency for Ruto — was increasingly gaining traction in opposition circles.
Others, however, questioned why a serving Cabinet Secretary was openly discussing campaign difficulties instead of focusing on government delivery and development priorities.
Political analysts say Oparanya’s remarks reflect the growing complexities within the broad-based political arrangement between sections of ODM and the Kenya Kwanza administration, particularly as succession politics begin to take shape ahead of 2027.
The comments also come amid heightened political activity across Western Kenya, where both government and opposition-allied leaders have intensified grassroots mobilisation campaigns in recent months.
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