A long-running leadership dispute within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) took a new turn on Thursday after the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) officially recognised the removal of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as the party’s Secretary General.

In a letter addressed to Sifuna at Parliament Buildings, the Registrar said the decision followed a review of documents submitted by the party and noted that no response had been received from the senator despite being accorded an opportunity under Article 47 of the Constitution.

“Upon review of the documents submitted by the party and the lack of response from you pursuant to Article 47 of the Constitution, we note that your removal from the office of the party Secretary General was in line with the Political Parties Act Cap. 7D and the ODM party Constitution,”said ODM.

The Registrar further stated that the party’s records had already been amended to reflect the change.

“Owing to the above, this office has effected the change and updated the party records,” added.

The decision effectively concludes the administrative process that followed an earlier resolution by ODM’s National Executive Committee seeking to remove Sifuna from the position.

Sifuna, however, moved swiftly to challenge the decision through his lawyer, Isaac Okero, who accused the Registrar of rushing the process and acting outside the law. In a response to the ORPP, the lawyer argued that the changes had been made without following the requirements set out under Section 20(2) of the Political Parties Act and indicated that the matter would be taken to court.

At the ODM headquarters in Nairobi, Deputy Secretary General and Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo welcomed the Registrar’s decision, saying the party could now proceed with its internal affairs without further uncertainty.

“We have waited for so long…we cannot have a person masquerading to be an SG yet he is out there running his own agenda…we can now move on as party and he can as well go and form his own party,” said Omanyo.

Although the Registrar has updated the party’s official records, the dispute appears far from over, with Sifuna’s legal team preparing to challenge the decision in court.

The next phase of the battle is therefore expected to shift from the political arena to the judiciary, where the legality of the process will likely be determined.