Suba North Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo has come out to subtly defend her Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna for always appearing to be polarising figures within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Speaking on Monday, November 17, Odhiambo stated that the two leaders had to adjust to the city's politics, which she considers to be highly unstable, because they were based in an urban area.
The ODM MP explained that while the two leaders were not necessarily rebelling against ODM, their political bases also compel them to protect their interests at the same time, since in Nairobi, politics is 'oppositionist in nature'.
“What is the position of the people whose voters are primarily in Nairobi? What is the position of Babu and Sifuna? Is Nairobi predominantly broad-based? Of course not, which is very normal in urban politics anywhere in the world; they are usually very oppositionist in nature," she explained.
She added, “For me, I can go to Suba and say I am broad-based and talk to people of Suba North to follow me in broad-based, but Nairobi is a totally different dynamic. That is why I am very understanding of Sifuna and Babu when people attack them and say, ‘Why don’t you follow this direction?. In politics, people look out also for their own interests."
Babu Owino has arguably been the biggest subject of speculation over his future in ODM, particularly because of his vocal nature and personality.
During the ODM at 20 celebrations, the lawmaker openly challenged ODM leadership, stating that he was also fully capable of running the political outfit as party leader.
Further, Babu Owino has also been a fierce critic of the Kenya Kwanza government despite a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ODM, and vowed to honour the late Raila Odinga by renewing calls for protests if the government failed to put Kenyans first in its policies.
Sifuna, meanwhile, has also had his position as ODM Secretary General questioned because of his refusal to play ball with the government.
As recently as October 30, Sifuna cautioned ODM members against using the term "broad-based" to describe the party's relationship with the government.
According to Odhiambo, Kenyan politics has yet to fully evolve, and ethnicity still plays a major role, even in urban areas.
“Let us also be realistic about the nature of our politics in Kenya; it is very ethnic based and you would want to hope that in urban places like Nairobi, it is not, but it is," she added.
Sifuna and Owino also made their stance public by skipping a joint ODM and UDA parliamentary group meeting at KCB Leadership Centre in Karen, which was chaired by the President.
