Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during a past political rally in Kibera's Jakaranda on April 28, 2023.
ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna's continued stinging criticism of the political deal between his party leader, Raila Odinga and President William Ruto has stirred debate on the outfit’s 2027 game plan.
On one hand, the firebrand Nairobi senator has been labelled a rebel who is out to rock the Orange party from within. On the other hand, he is seen as Mr Odinga’s Trojan Horse for a strategic exit from the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ODM and the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
On Tuesday night, Mr Sifuna stepped up the attack, declaring the MoU ODM signed with the ruling party to prop up a besieged Kenya Kwanza administration is “dead”.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna at Bunge Tower Nairobi on March 17, 2025.
He also vowed to snub an ODM committee that is expected to review progress in implementing provisions of the deal reached to stabilise the government following last year’s GenZ protests.
His hardline position came only three days after his party leader on Saturday expressed ODM’s commitment to the deal with President Ruto at least up to 2027.
Mr Sifuna’s constant scathing attack on President Ruto’s troubled regime and his repeated dismissal of ODM’s deal with the ruling party as “the worst decision ever” has confounded both friends and foes.
Yet, the fact that he seems to get away with these stinging statements that contradict Mr Odinga’s position, even at one point securing his party leader’s backing, has got tongues wagging.
In May, Mr Odinga came to the defence of Mr Sifuna, affirming that he is the official voice of the party.
Speaking during the funeral of Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were in Oyugis, Homa Bay County, the former premier said ODM must remain steadfast, acknowledging that in a political party, there are always differences of opinion on some issues.
Broad-based government
“Ultimately, the official position must be articulated by the party, and the spokesman of the party is actually the secretary-general, Mr Sifuna. He speaks on behalf of the party,” said Mr Odinga.
The senator has proven to be a thorn in the flesh of the broad-based government, calling it out for its excesses, including police brutality, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
He has also been unequivocal that ODM is not in government and will not support President Ruto in his re-election bid.
“The price we are paying for this association is too high. This relationship is hurting our party because there is no desire or commitment from the President’s side to implement the agreement we had, and that is why I am saying this thing is dead,” said Mr Sifuna.
“I want Ruto to know that his removal from office is a national priority agenda. It is the only agenda because his government is opposed to everything the Constitution stands for. In my ranking, removing Ruto is top. If he was sent to the Senate, I would impeach him without blinking,” Mr Sifuna said during an interview with Citizen TV on Tuesday night.
The senator explained that the move to work with UDA was arrived at to avert Kenya collapsing as a State but maintains that continuing with the association until 2027 is untenable as there has been a material breach of the agreement.
He explained that he advised the party against signing the MoU with UDA as it would blur what ODM has always stood for, but he was overruled.
In an interview with NTV and Daily Nation in Nairobi on Saturday, Mr Odinga said the decision by ODM to cooperate with President Ruto’s administration was made purely in the interest of national stability.
He described the current collaboration as a response to last year’s wave of youth-led anti-government protests, which pushed the country to the edge of civil unrest. According to Mr Odinga, had they not acted when they did, Kenya would have risked plunging into chaos such as that plaguing Somalia, Haiti, and Sudan.
“We have said that we are in the broad-based government until 2027. We did not say that we are going to work with UDA beyond 2027. Those are issues that we will discuss at the appropriate time, and the decision will be made by party members, not Raila Odinga alone,” the ODM leader said.
However, Mr Sifuna argued that sticking with the Kenya Kwanza government until 2027 will leave the party with no room to prepare for the elections.
Nairobi County Senator Edwin Sifuna during an interview in his office.
This, he said, will see ODM lose the opportunity to extricate itself from the unpopular government and explain to the people what they have been doing with the regime.
“So I don’t understand those within our ranks who see us as a viable option to the Kenya Kwanza government and want us to yoke ourselves with the government beyond 2027, much to the chagrin of many of us in the party,” he said.
Win election
The senator insists that ODM has a good chance of winning the 2027 elections, with President Ruto losing the votes from Mt Kenya that propelled him to the presidency in 2022.
“If a decision is taken by the party to support Ruto in 2027, which is something that I cannot abide by. I believe we have a good chance as a political party and there is still time to correct the course. We have been the hope of the people for a long time and we can still be that,” said the Senate deputy minority whip.
“I don’t know why people forget that Raila is still there and I will support him in 2027 and we will win that election. All we need is all the votes we got in 2022.”
Lending credence to the observation that Mr Sifuna could indeed be Mr Odinga’s Trojan Horse, US-based university lecturer and political analyst Professor David Monda says the senator would not be speaking the way he has been without the blessing of his party leader.
“If the top honchos of ODM wanted Sifuna to stop, they could easily remove him from the SG position. He (Raila) is hedging his bets on different factions of ODM while always leveraging ODM's political legitimacy as an asset to a beleaguered Kenya Kwanza,” said Prof Monda.
“In politics, as in poker, keeping your cards close to your chest is an invaluable skill. Raila is doing this effectively via SG Sifuna.”
Prof Macharia Munene, another university lecturer and a political analyst, agrees with Prof Monda, saying Mr Sifuna is doing his best to rescue ODM from the mistake of agreeing to work with UDA.
The don argues that the senator has been consistent since ODM mooted the idea of working with UDA and he has since been proven right.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna follows proceedings during a hearing of the Senate Energy committee at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on Thursday last week.
“What we have now is desperation within ODM and so Raila could be trying to create a way for him to get out of the sinking ship. He has learnt that the UDA boat is fast sinking, so they are looking for a credible way to get out; that is what Sifuna is doing.”
When contacted, ODM Chairperson and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga declined to comment, saying she did not wish to be drawn into an exchange with Mr Sifuna.
However, Mombasa Governor and ODM deputy party leader Abdulswamad Nassir said the position of the party remains that ODM supports President Ruto until 2027.
“We still believe that the decision we made was the best in the circumstances. It is true that we have shed some popularity as a party, but was it not the best decision? If we chose to take the populist route, there would be no country to talk about at the moment,” argued Mr Nassir.
“I can tell you that we met as the party’s Central Management Committee to take a stand before signing the MoU, I was the first to speak in support of the arrangement for the sake of the stability of this country.”
But Makadara MP George Aladwa dismissed Mr Sifuna, saying the sentiments are his personal opinions, just like anyone else.
“As a party, we will only go with what Raila says, and so far, he has told us he is in full support of the broad-based government. The KICC declaration is still intact,” said the ODM Nairobi chairperson.
Mr Sifuna vowed he would not be silenced and he would continue to express his mind even if that meant losing his post as ODM SG.
Lost confidence
The lawmaker said he is ready to trade the position for living in a country that is free, observes the rule of law, where people obey court orders and not shoot people in the street like chickens.
“I know the people who put me in this position, and if that same person calls me and tells me I have lost confidence in your ability to do this job, I will relinquish it without blinking. I will remain a loyal member of the party and serve the people of Nairobi as their senator.”
ODM Secretary General, Edwin Sifuna, addresses residents of Funyula at Bukiri Primary School in Busia County on February 28, 2025.
The senator admitted there is a split within ODM between people who believe in safeguarding the party’s ideology and philosophy and those who support the government.
“You are not going to force us into an alliance with incompetent people, and it has been demonstrated that the Kenya Kwanza government is the most incompetent so far since independence,” Mr Sifuna claimed.
Saboti MP Caleb Amisi said there are many other members within the party opposed to the deal but have chosen to be quiet.
He argued that should ODM continue to support Dr Ruto, it will be a shell going into 2027 elections.
“I am one of the few principled members of the party who rejected the deal from the word go. My rejection even cost me the chairmanship of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee,” said Mr Amisi.
“I have made it clear that I cannot support Ruto. If my party decides to support him, it will be enough reason for a divorce because I cannot support a regime that is killing people.”
Facing accusations that he is being used by the opposition to rock the boat from within, Mr Sifuna termed the allegations as “absolute nonsense”, saying he has only met former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua twice in his life.
“I am used to these sorts of accusations. They say that when a hyena wants to eat its children, it says they smell like a goat. He (Gachagua) is supposed to be a bogeyman so that if you express opposition to the government they say you have been sent by wamunyoro. It is absolute nonsense,” he said.
