Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot had some sharp words for a section of ODM leaders on Saturday, and he didn’t hold back. Speaking at a women’s empowerment event in Budalangi, Cheruiyot went after those within ODM who have been pushing back against their party’s decision to work with President William Ruto’s government.
He called out Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Siaya Governor James Orengo, and a few others by name — pointing to them as the main voices standing in the way of a closer relationship between ODM and the Kenya Kwanza administration.
But Cheruiyot didn’t stop there. He went a step further, claiming that these leaders aren’t acting on their own — that former President Uhuru Kenyatta is pulling the strings behind the scenes. He alleged that they are being bankrolled to keep attacking Ruto’s administration, likening them to hired guns doing someone else’s dirty work. Those are fighting words, and they’re likely to turn up the heat on what is already a tense political standoff.
All of this played out at an event that was actually meant to be about something far more constructive — supporting women’s groups with funding and empowerment programs. Cheruiyot used the platform to also make the case that the growing ties between ODM and Kenya Kwanza are good for the country, urging leaders to spend less time on political point-scoring and more time actually delivering for ordinary Kenyans.
So far, none of the ODM leaders he named have come out to respond to his claims. Former President Kenyatta has equally stayed quiet on the matter.
The crowd at the event had mixed reactions. Many appreciated the empowerment program itself, but the political jabs split opinion. Some felt leaders should be focused on development and leave the mudslinging aside, while others weren’t necessarily against political debate — as long as it came with a little more respect.
Local officials who attended also weighed in, stressing that development work shouldn’t be held hostage to political differences, and that what matters most at the end of the day is improving people’s lives on the ground.
With 2027 now firmly in the rearview mirror of everyone’s political calculations, moments like these are becoming more frequent — and the lines between allies and rivals are being drawn a little more clearly each week.