ODM Party Leader Oburu Odinga Hospitalised in Nairobi for Three Days
Sources within ODM have confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that the Siaya Senator has been admitted to a hospital in Nairobi since Sunday, August 30.
ODM Party leader Oburu Odinga. Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Dr Oburu Odinga, has been hospitalised for three days now, Kenyans.co.ke has established.
Sources within ODM have confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that the Siaya Senator has been admitted to a hospital in Nairobi since Sunday, August 30.
According to the source, who did not reveal the exact cause of the hospitalisation, the family of the 83-year-old leader is considering flying him to the United Kingdom for specialised treatment.
Reports indicate that Oburu was admitted due to severe fatigue, with doctors recommending rest. Kenyans.co.ke has not independently verified these reports.
The Siaya Senator was last seen in public on Saturday, August 29, playing golf, with images he shared online showing him in high spirits. By the time of publication, it was unclear when he was rushed to hospital.
Kenyans.co.ke has established that various party officials visited Oburu in hospital on Monday, August 31, even as cracks within the party continue to grow.
Only his family and close relatives have been permitted to see him in the hospital regularly, with firm instructions from his medical team restricting access, sources said.
Neither Oburu’s family, ODM, nor the hospital has publicly given a detailed update on his current condition by the time of going to press.
Oburu, who took over the leadership of the ODM party following the death of his brother, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in October 2025, has been at the centre of the party’s transition period as it navigates internal realignments ahead of the 2027 general election.
Questions surrounding Oburu’s health have lingered online for months. In May this year, doctored images circulated on social media falsely claiming he had been hospitalised in India. The claim was later debunked, with fact-checkers confirming the photo was digitally altered and shared during his brief absence from party events.
In November 2025, shortly after Raila Odinga’s death, Oburu travelled to Dubai for what he described as a short sabbatical. At the time, his son and aide, Elijah Oburu, denied rumours of illness, insisting that the veteran politician simply needed time to rest following a difficult family period.
The latest hospitalisation comes at a sensitive time for the Orange party, which has in recent weeks witnessed growing internal disagreements over its broad-based engagement with the government and its future direction.
Party officials who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke on condition of anonymity said they were monitoring the situation closely and were awaiting guidance from the family and the medical team on his condition and recovery.
Efforts to get an official comment from the ODM party secretariat and family members were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
Oburu, a long-serving politician and former Assistant Minister for Finance, has been serving as Siaya Senator and has been a key figure in ODM’s top decision-making organs for years.
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