Kasmuel McOure: ODM has 'nothing to lose' in Mount Kenya

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) youth league  leader Kasmuel McOure on Spice FM. [Screengrab] 

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) youth leader Kasmuel McOure says the party has nothing to lose in the Mount Kenya region, arguing it has never enjoyed political support there.

His remarks come against the backdrop of an ODM leadership fight that has split the party since the death of its founder, Raila Odinga, in October 2025.

Dr Oburu Oginga was ratified as ODM leader the following month, and the party has since divided over whether to continue cooperating with President William Ruto's administration through the broad-based government or return to opposition.

Speaking on Spice FM on Wednesday during a discussion on the regional popularity of ODM and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), McOure said ODM had repeatedly failed to make political gains in the Mount Kenya region despite years of trying.

"In all honesty, ODM particularly has nothing to lose in the mountain because we have not received any support previously," said McOure.

He said the region has consistently rejected Odinga over several election cycles, a trend he linked to UDA's dominance there in 2022.

"They consistently have been against Raila Odinga in the mountain because consistently we have tried to court the mountain for years. Our departed leader tried with little success, but UDA enjoyed that support in 2022," he explained.

McOure also challenged the belief that winning the presidency depends on support from Mount Kenya, pointing to Daniel Arap Moi's re-election in 1992 and 1997.

"If we are to look at elections from a tribal prism, presidents have previously been elected without Mount Kenya. For example, Moi won in 1992 and 1997 generally without the mountain's support," he observed.

The comments follow months of internal turmoil in ODM. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, the party's former secretary general and a vocal opponent of cooperation with Ruto's government, has been locked in a legal battle over his removal from office since February. ODM's National Executive Committee ousted him twice, and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties formally recognised the removal on July 9. Sifuna has rejected that outcome and filed an amended complaint before the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal seeking to overturn it, keeping his status in dispute.

McOure aligns with the faction backing cooperation with Ruto's government, which includes Dr Oginga, while Sifuna has used his Linda Mwananchi movement to campaign for ODM to return to its traditional opposition role.

At the same time, McOure urged political leaders to move away from regional and ethnic voting patterns ahead of the August 2027 general election.

"It is the political culture to make the tribal arithmetic, and I think 2027 will be no different, at least for these elections. Post-2027 is when the change of guard nationally will change," said McOure.

He praised Ruto for spreading development projects across the country but cautioned him against relying on leaders who claim to control ethnic voting blocs.

"Anybody who fronts himself as a person who promises the votes just in terms of a tribal bloc, I think the President should treat disdainfully," he noted, adding that ethnic mobilisation remains one of Kenya's biggest political challenges.

McOure said ODM had begun negotiations to build a pre-election coalition ahead of 2027 after contesting the 2022 election without one.

"After 2024, the formation of a broad-based government occasioned by the youth, now we are seeking to form a pre-election coalition. The negotiations have just begun," noted McOure.

He dismissed Sifuna's political threat to ODM, despite acknowledging the senator's popularity.

"I am not here to contest Sifuna's popularity. I actually acknowledge that he is quite popular, but it does not faze us," said McOure.