Veteran politician James Orengo has emerged at the centre of a fresh political realignment within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after the party replaced Fred Ogola, a move that has triggered an angry reaction from the ousted leader.
Ogola has accused the party of abandoning the vision he believed the LDP represented by handing its leadership to Orengo, whom he portrayed as a symbol of Kenya’s established political order.
In a statement to the LDP fraternity, Ogola said he received the decision to replace him with Orengo with “deep disappointment”, describing it as a betrayal after what he termed years of building the party.
“After everything we built together, this was a betrayal I never expected,” Ogola said.
Ogola, however, sharply criticised the decision, arguing that LDP was originally conceived as a vehicle for a new generation of political leadership.
He said the party was meant to be “young, visionary, meritocratic and anchored in ideas”, rather than becoming part of what he described as recycled political formations.
Ogola also linked Orengo’s takeover to LDP’s association with the Ukombozi/Linda Mwananchi coalition, questioning the strategic value of the move.
“Choosing a seat at the table through the so-called Ukombozi/Linda Mwananchi coalition is, in my view, like boarding the Titanic after it has hit the iceberg,” he said.
The former LDP leader argued that the party risked sacrificing its long-term identity for short-term political visibility by embracing established political players and formations.
Ogola said he had sought to position LDP around what he called “Solomonic Economics”, the EVOLVE Doctrine and a vision for Kenya’s “Third Economic Liberation”.
He maintained that his agenda was designed to take the party beyond the 2027 election rather than return it to what he called “the politics of yesterday”.
Orengo’s arrival now gives LDP a veteran political figure with decades of experience in Kenya’s opposition politics, while simultaneously raising questions about the ideological direction the party intends to take heading into 2027.
