Prime Cabinet Secretary Mudavadi Warns Western Kenya of ODM’s Growing Influence in Government

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told religious leaders in Vihiga County on Saturday, November 7, 2026, that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had become the biggest defender of President William Ruto’s administration and that Western Kenya politicians should not underestimate the party’s growing influence.

Speaking at a meeting with bishops in Nyang'ori, Mudavadi said ODM politicians were “politically strategic” and warned that the party could secure more key government positions, potentially leaving supporters of Ruto in a difficult political position.

He recalled telling residents of Western Kenya that “Mimi niliambia watu tutashinda na tukishinda Mheshimiwa Raila atakuja kujiunga mkafikiri ni mchezo. Ilifanyika ama haikufanyika?” and added that those who supported Ruto’s election but now feel threatened by ODM had failed to understand the political direction he had predicted after the 2022 General Election.

Mudavadi cited the replacement of Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro as chair of the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee with ODM MP Samuel Atandi as an illustration of the party’s expanding role. Atandi was elected unopposed as chairman on March 12, 2025 after Nyoro did not submit a nomination, and he later thanked President Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga for the support that made his election possible.

“Right now, wakizungumza, the biggest defender of Ruto is ODM. I want to tell you those people are politically shrewd,” Mudavadi said, urging Western Kenya leaders not to assume ODM would relinquish the influence it had gained through the broad-based government arrangement.

He warned that abandoning the current arrangement for the opposition would not bring any benefit, stating, “I’m trying to tell you something, You cannot go kuanza huko kwa opposition, they are not going anywhere, njia ni hapahapa.”

Mudavadi’s remarks come after ODM, which did not back Ruto in the 2022 elections, entered a broad-based government with Kenya Kwanza following the political upheaval of 2024, and he suggested that the party’s strategic positioning meant it would continue to protect its interests within government structures.

The Prime Cabinet Secretary concluded by urging Western Kenya politicians to remain within the present political arrangement, arguing that the opposition offered no viable alternative for the region.