Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed knows many things about wranglings in the Orange Democratic Movement Party, especially now that unending bickering threatens to tear it apart.
Among the many things the outspoken lawmaker knows is that if the the party is to be useful to itself and partners in the 2027 General Election that promises to be a knife edge contest, then unity and tolerance is not an option but compulsory meal for all it’s members.
On Wednesday evening in a tell-all interview with a local television, he said there is no rift between him and Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, terming their public exchanges as a mere divergence of opinion that does not threaten unity within the party.
The National Assembly Minority Leader said the differences between senior party figures should not be mistaken for personal hostility or factional warfare.
“No, nothing serious. It’s a divergence of opinion. He believes that way, I believe in this way. Nothing personal,” Junet said.
He insisted that internal debate remains part of democratic party culture but maintained that individual views must ultimately give way to collective decisions once party organs make a determination.
“The decision of the party will prevail in the end. We can have different opinions, you can say this way, I say that way. But when the party decides, that’s what Baba taught us. We will all abide by it,” he said, referring to ODM party leader Raila Odinga.
The remarks come amid renewed debate within ODM over succession politics and the party’s long-term leadership direction, with some leaders drawing parallels with past splits in Kenya’s opposition movements.
Junet also dismissed claims that ODM lost past elections due to internal betrayal, instead blaming voter behaviour in some regions for the late Raila Odinga’s defeat.
Despite the public exchanges, Junet maintained that ideological differences should not be mistaken for disloyalty, insisting that ODM remains intact and guided by collective decisions rather than individual ambitions.
“I didn’t take agents’ money. If Baba won the election, I would be a big man in this country. Baba lost the elections because people with surnames like yours didn’t vote for him,” he said.
What Edwin Sifuna said
Earlier this month Sifuna launched a blistering attack on Junet, accusing him of hypocrisy and misusing funds donated by Uhuru to support Raila’s campaign.
In a fiery address, Sifuna reminded ODM supporters that Raila recorded his strongest-ever performance in the Mt. Kenya region in 2022, garnering over one million votes; a feat he attributed in large part to Uhuru’s backing.
Sifuna openly thanked the former President for bankrolling the campaign, saying much of the money ODM used came directly from Uhuru.
He directly accused Junet of now pretending that Uhuru’s money was “dirty”, despite having benefited from it at the time.
Sifuna went ahead to accuse Junet of pocketing campaign funds instead of paying agents, leading to Raila’s defeat in key battlegrounds.
He alleged that agents were abandoned on election day, allowing rivals to sail to victory, and went as far as to claim that but for Junet’s actions, ODM would be in government today.
He as well dismissed suggestions that he could be disciplined or expelled from the party, insisting that ODM’s position remains unchanged: that Raila never endorsed President William Ruto for re-election in 2027.
DCP Deputy Leader Cleophas Malala has sensationally claimed that Suna East MP Junet Mohamed secretly worked with President William Ruto’s camp during the 2022 General Election.
Junet was battling sensation claims from DCP Party politician Cleophas Malala who on Tuesday claimed that when Ruto was running against the late Raila Odinga, he would brief him on everything within the ODM Party.
“The other day, you saw Edwin Sifuna saying that Junet Mohammed ate money meant for agents. I want to confirm that here, in this interview today. I was William Ruto’s right-hand man. We were in UDA. At night, Junet used to come to see William Ruto and brief him on everything,” he said.
Malala went on to allege that Junet supplied Ruto’s team with sensitive operational details about ODM’s grassroots structures.
“We even had a list of ODM agents across the country. We knew who was going to be an ODM agent in which place, courtesy of Junet. That guy started betraying Baba when he was still alive,” he added.
Malala’s claims come weeks after a war of words erupted after Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna accused Junet of misappropriating funds meant to pay election agents during the 2022 polls.
Speaking on Saturday, January 3, Sifuna accused Junet of suddenly condemning former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s money despite having benefited from them during the election period.
He argued that most of ODM’s campaign financing came from the former president.
“Others freely benefited from Uhuru Kenyatta’s money and as Secretary General, I know this well. A large portion of the funds we used for the campaign came from Uhuru. But now, one reckless person has suddenly decided that Uhuru’s money is somehow wrong,” he said.
Sifuna blamed Junet for allegedly pocketing funds meant for agents, claiming this failure enabled the current administration to defeat ODM.
“Let me ask you, Junet, on what day did Uhuru’s money become bad? Was it the day you were taking that money and not even bringing it to the party? When you were pocketing Uhuru’s money instead of paying agents, allowing the current administration to defeat us, and now we are crying outside government? If it were not for you, Junet, we would be in government today. You cannot intimidate me,” he added.
