My one term as senator is enough experience to be president, Sifuna says as he rallies Western
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna addresses residents during the Linda Mwananchi rally in Butula, Busia County, on August 7, 2026.
The Linda Mwananchi team has returned to Western Kenya for a three-day tour, starting in Busia on Friday as the opposition-leaning group seeks to consolidate support in the region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, the team began its tour in Bumala before making stopovers in Murumba and Butula, winding up the day's activities in Nambale.
The visit comes less than two weeks after the brigade held rallies in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties. It also follows President William Ruto's visit to Busia on July 26, when he attended the consecration and enthronement of Vitalis Job Ekuru as the fourth bishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya's Katakwa Diocese.
Several senior officials associated with Linda Mwananchi were absent from the Busia tour, including Siaya Governor James Orengo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya.
The team is seeking to capitalise on the political transition by presenting a new leadership platform and wooing voters in areas where ODM has traditionally enjoyed significant support.
Mr Sifuna challenged claims that he lacks the experience required to become Kenya's president, arguing that leadership should instead be judged by wisdom, integrity and the ability to protect citizens.
He invoked the biblical King Solomon, who asked God for wisdom when he was called upon to lead the people of Israel.
"All I need is the wisdom of Solomon to lead Kenyans," Mr Sifuna said.
The Nairobi senator questioned whether experience was necessary for a leader to know that police should not use excessive force against citizens or fire teargas at worshippers.
"Do you need experience not to shoot people in the leg? Which experience is needed to know that you should not throw teargas at congregants in church?" he asked.
He also criticised the government over cases of alleged police brutality and extrajudicial killings, referring to the death of Albert Ojwang while in police custody.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna acknowledges supporters during the Linda Mwananchi rally in Butula, Busia County, on August 7, 2026.
"Do you need experience not to forcefully take children from their homestead and kill them in a police cell like they did to Albert Ojwang?" he said.
He said if the experience being demanded meant learning how to preside over enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, then that was not the kind of experience he wanted.
"If that is the experience of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, for me I just want one experience," he said.
Mr Sifuna said Solomon had also been unprepared when he was called to lead Israel but sought wisdom to distinguish right from wrong.
"We were told about Solomon in the Bible. There was a time when he was called to lead the people, yet he was unprepared to lead the people of Israel. He asked God for wisdom to know what is right and what is wrong," he said.
He urged Busia residents to support the Linda Mwananchi movement as it seeks to challenge President Ruto in the 2027 election.
"I want to beseech you to rally behind us so as to send President Ruto home in 2027," he said.
He also appealed to Busia residents to join the movement, citing the county's strong links with ODM.
"The people of Busia are the majority in ODM. I want to urge you, as we start another journey, let the people of Busia join us," he said.
He accused President Ruto of failing to deliver on his election promises and said the President should not be given another term.
"President Ruto should not get even a single day in State House after the 2027 General Election. We have nothing personal against him; he has failed to deliver to the people of Kenya," Mr Sifuna said.
He also questioned the government's long-term development plans, including Vision 2060, while criticising the way the success of the Social Health Authority (SHA) is being measured.
The political tour came as the proposed Linda Mwananchi Party continued to face a dispute over its registration with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna acknowledges supporters during the Linda Mwananchi rally in Butula, Busia County, on August 7, 2026.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi accused the Ruto administration of attempting to block the movement from securing the Linda Mwananchi name.
Mr Osotsi said the administration was trying to frustrate the movement after President Ruto dismissed it as fire made out of paper.
"Ruto is saying the Linda Mwananchi team is fire made out of paper, but he has sent emissaries to the Registrar of Political Parties who are trying to take Linda Mwananchi's name," he said.
He warned that the movement would take action if it did not secure the name by Monday.
"I want to tell William Ruto that we know your tricks. We are telling the Registrar of Political Parties that if we don't get the name by Monday, we will hold a political meeting at his office," Mr Osotsi said.
The dispute has since escalated into a legal and political showdown after lawyers representing promoter Charles Wanyonyi accused the Registrar of Political Parties of reopening the decision on the party name without involving their client.
The latest development came barely a day after Mr Sifuna and other politicians aligned to Linda Mwananchi held a closed-door meeting with Registrar of Political Parties John Cox Lorionokou.
The team later announced that the Registrar had agreed to review an earlier decision rejecting the reservation of the proposed party name.
Wanyonyi's lawyers have now challenged that move, arguing that their client was the first person to apply for the name and should therefore be involved in any review.
Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale addresses residents during the Linda Mwananchi rally in Butula, Busia County, on August 7, 2026.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale used the Busia rally to urge Western Kenya voters to unite behind Mr Sifuna and the wider opposition movement.
Dr Khalwale said the region should not allow ethnic differences between the Luhya and Luo communities to divide voters ahead of the 2027 elections.
"This is our time as Western people. As Luhyas, we are neighbours to the Luos. Our enemy is not the Luos; it's Ruto," he said.
He accused the government of failing to deliver on several of its flagship programmes, including the Hustler Fund, SHA, university funding and the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.
After Busia, the team will move to Kakamega for rallies on Saturday and Sunday as it seeks to expand its political footprint beyond its recent strongholds.
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