Orengo’s plan to use LDP to wrestle Nyanza support from ODM faces rebellion from former party leader

Orengo’s plan to use LDP to wrestle Nyanza support from ODM faces rebellion from former party leader

Former LDP leader Fred Ogolla challenges James Orengo’s party membership and takeover bid, warning of a looming leadership showdown as the governor positions the outfit for the 2027 General Election.

Siaya Governor James Orengo’s plan to use the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as his political vehicle ahead of the 2027 General Election has run into fresh opposition, with a former party leader questioning his membership and legitimacy to take control of the outfit.

Political activist and outspoken critic of President William Ruto’s administration, Professor Fred Ogolla, has challenged Orengo’s bid to acquire and popularise the party, arguing that the combative lawyer is not a registered member of the LDP.

Speaking to The Eastleigh Voice, Ogolla dismissed Orengo’s declaration that he would use the party to advance his political ambitions in the 2027 elections, demanding that he explain his membership status.

“I want to make it clear that Orengo is not a member of the LDP Party. I challenge him to tell us when he resigned from the ODM Party or what his party number is in his so-called new outfit,” said Ogolla.

Ogolla, a professor and distinguished strategist known for his outspoken political views and activism, warned that the dispute could escalate when the party convenes its National Delegates Conference (NDC).

“Very soon we will be calling the LDP Party National Delegates Conference, and it will be interesting to see how Orengo became an official or a member of the party. He is a masquerader who wants to wreak havoc in an outfit he never formed,” said Ogolla.

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Orengo recently unveiled the LDP as his political vehicle for the 2027 General Election, saying the party would work with other opposition formations to challenge President Ruto.

Speaking in Golini, Kwale County, over the weekend, Orengo called on opposition parties to unite behind a common candidate to challenge the incumbent in next year’s elections.

“Sisi sote tuko pamoja na vile vyama vingine vya Kalonzo, Wiper, na Ukombozi, ya Jubilee ya Matiang’i. Yote lazima tujumuike tukae pamoja, la sivyo huyo Ruto, kama kuna mtu anajua kuiba kura,” he said.

The LDP is an old political party associated with Raila Odinga in 2002. It joined the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) in the campaign against KANU during that year’s General Election.

Orengo recently took over the party’s leadership, replacing Ogolla, a move that has sparked discontent from the former leader, who has questioned the direction the party is taking under the new leadership.

In a statement addressed to members of the LDP fraternity on October 6, Ogolla said he had received the decision to replace him with Orengo with deep disappointment, describing it as a betrayal after what he said was the work they had built together within the party.

“I have received the decision to replace me with James Orengo with deep disappointment, but also with clarity. After everything we built together, this was a betrayal I never expected,” read part of the statement.

Ogolla maintained that the LDP was established as a political vehicle focused on Kenya’s future, particularly through young leadership, fresh ideas and merit, rather than what he described as a return to established political formations.

He also criticised the party’s decision to join the Ukombozi-Linda Mwananchi coalition, arguing that the move risked undermining the LDP’s long-term objectives in pursuit of short-term political gains.

Comparing the decision to boarding a ship that had already run into trouble, Ogolla warned that the coalition could derail the vision and political agenda he had developed for the party.

The former party leader said he had sought to advance what he described as “Solomonic Economics”, the EVOLVE Doctrine and a broader vision for Kenya’s Third Economic Liberation, which he envisioned as a political project extending beyond the 2027 General Election.

He argued that his approach offered an alternative to what he considered recycled political ideas and the politics of previous generations, while positioning the party around long-term economic and political transformation.

Ogolla also appeared to take issue with LDP Secretary General Dennis Kodhe, accusing him of choosing the political direction associated with Orengo.

Addressing Kodhe directly, Ogolla described the decision as a choice between two competing political directions, with the party leadership opting for an approach he associated with the past.