Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has openly thrown his weight behind President William Ruto’s 2027 re-election bid, sharply criticising dissenting voices within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) during a charged address in Homa Bay County.
Speaking at a public forum attended by local leaders and residents, Mbadi urged ODM supporters in the region to embrace the broad-based government and rally behind President Ruto, arguing that cooperation with the current administration was already yielding tangible development gains for the county and the wider Nyanza region.
The former ODM chairman did not mince his words as he took aim at what he termed as “rebels” within the party,leaders who continue to oppose President Ruto despite ODM’s engagement with the government. Mbadi warned that persistent internal resistance and political grandstanding risk isolating the party from national decision-making and denying the region development opportunities.
According to the Treasury CS, the era of rigid opposition politics should give way to pragmatic engagement that prioritises the welfare of citizens over party rivalries. He defended his support for Ruto’s re-election as a strategic choice meant to secure stability, unity and economic progress, insisting that ODM supporters should not be misled by leaders clinging to confrontational politics.
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Mbadi also sent a pointed message to Homa Bay residents, cautioning that rejecting cooperation with the national government could be interpreted as resistance to development. He noted that the county stood to benefit more by aligning itself with the government’s economic and infrastructure agenda.
However, his remarks have further exposed divisions within ODM, with some leaders maintaining that the party should retain its independence and chart its own path ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Despite the pushback, Mbadi remained defiant, insisting that supporting President Ruto was the most realistic option for both ODM and the country at large.
The statements are expected to intensify debate within ODM as the 2027 political contest gradually takes shape, particularly in party strongholds like Homa Bay, where loyalty to ODM leadership has traditionally run deep.
