Siaya Governor James Orengo (left) and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna after attending a service at St Stephen's Anglican Cathedral in Kisumu on July 12, 2026.
Siaya Governor James Orengo and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna have moved to defuse tensions within their political camp after a week of simmering rivalry triggered by the veteran politician’s declaration that he would seek the Linda Mwananchi presidential ticket.
The two leaders met over lunch on Friday alongside Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and their close aides, in what insiders described as an effort to ease concerns among their supporters and project unity ahead of the movement’s next round of rallies.
The meeting comes days after Mr Orengo publicly declared that he was ready to compete against Mr Sifuna or any other aspirant for the Linda Mwananchi presidential ticket, insisting that opposition unity should not mean shutting down competing ambitions. The governor has instead demanded a credible and open nomination process through which the movement would select its presidential candidate.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino (left), Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna (center) and Siaya Governor James Orengo converse during the People’s Delegate Convention organised by the Linda Mwananchi political faction at Ufungamano House in Nairobi on March 27, 2026.
“There is nothing wrong with competing ambitions within Linda Mwananchi or the opposition. What matters is that we subject all candidates to a credible nomination process and, at the end of it, we emerge with one candidate to face Ruto (President William Ruto),” Mr Orengo told Sunday Nation.
His declaration has unsettled a section of the movement’s supporters who had already rallied behind Mr Sifuna.
Some leaders have accused the governor of introducing unnecessary competition into a movement whose grassroots supporters, they argue, have already settled on the Nairobi senator as their preferred presidential candidate.
Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, for instance, has pointed to the slogan “Sisi Ndio Sifuna” (We are Sifuna) as evidence of grassroots support for the senator.
Bumula MP Jack Wamboka, an ally of Mr Sifuna, has also been critical of Mr Orengo, saying “Kenyans have already decided on whom they want on the ballot to fly their movement’s flag.”
Ms Pauline Njoroge, while speaking in Meru during the movement’s recent rally, also suggested that the question of their candidate was a done deal.
“Our supporters are very clear and unequivocal that they have already settled on one presidential candidate, and that candidate is Edwin Sifuna. Their position is that Sifuna is the person they want to carry the Linda Mwananchi ticket into the 2027 election,” she said.
But Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi was more diplomatic, acknowledging Mr Orengo’s stature and reform credentials while insisting that the movement has mechanisms that can eventually resolve the presidential question.
“The movement has huge respect for Governor Orengo given his high pedigree and credentials on matters reforms,” Mr Osotsi told Sunday Nation. “At the right moment, we shall have internal mechanisms to amicably deal with that question.”
Friday’s lunch appears to have been intended to prevent the emerging contest from degenerating into an open confrontation between the two Linda Mwananchi camps.
Siaya Governor James Orengo (right) and ODM Edwin Sifuna address residents of Ugunja town during a public rally by Linda Mwananchi faction on February 8, 2026.
Sources familiar with the meeting, but who spoke in confidence, told Sunday Nation that Mr Orengo and Mr Sifuna were keen to demonstrate solidarity after some of their allies began attacking each other, particularly following the governor’s presidential declaration.
“You know there have been some of their allies spreading hate and attacks, especially targeting Orengo after he declared his interest in the top seat, and the two leaders had to meet and show solidarity,” a source said.
The timing of the meeting is significant as Linda Mwananchi prepares for another major mobilisation in Nairobi on September 13.
The movement is expected to use the Nairobi rally to continue selling its agenda while preparing to announce its next political move.
Another source said Mr Owino, the Embakasi East MP, was instrumental in the planning of the Friday lunch.
“Babu is eyeing the Nairobi gubernatorial seat and the next rally on Sunday will be key to his bid so he had to really push so that it comes when the whole team is united to help campaign for him and boost his prospects of sending Sakaja (Governor Johnson Sakaja) home next year,” the source, who also sought anonymity, said.
On Saturday, Mr Sifuna told the Nation the lunch meeting was hosted by Governor Orengo. He, however, downplayed suggestions that the discussions were prompted by the emerging contest for the movement’s presidential ticket.
Asked about the purpose of the meeting, the Nairobi senator said the three were simply planning for their next political engagement.
“There are no issues. We were planning our next meeting set for 13th (September 13th),” Mr Sifuna told the Nation.
Read: My one term as senator is enough experience to be president, Sifuna says as he rallies Western
For Mr Orengo and Mr Sifuna, maintaining a united public front could be crucial as the movement attempts to transition from a loose opposition group into an organised political vehicle capable of competing in the 2027 elections.
The governor’s entry into the presidential contest has nevertheless exposed an important fault line.
Mr Sifuna’s allies argue that the senator has already emerged as the movement’s preferred candidate through a series of rallies and grassroots engagements. Mr Orengo, on the other hand, maintains that popularity at rallies cannot replace a formal mechanism for choosing a presidential flag bearer.
He has cited previous opposition experiences, including the 2007 ODM presidential contest and the 2002 opposition negotiations that eventually produced the Kibaki-Wamalwa ticket, to argue that competing ambitions can coexist before a final decision is reached.
His position is that the opposition’s ultimate objective should remain the same: producing one candidate to challenge President William Ruto.
“I am committed to the principle that there should be one opposition candidate and it could come from any of the formations,” Mr Orengo said.
The Friday meeting therefore offers the first visible indication that the two camps are keen to prevent their differences from undermining the broader opposition project.
It also provides an opportunity for Mr Sifuna and Mr Orengo to reassure their supporters that the contest for the presidential ticket need not become a personal war.
The September 13 Nairobi rally could, however, provide the next test of whether the emerging truce holds.
Members and supporters are not viewing the meeting at face value but as an effort to assure them of the leaders’ unity.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna (left) and Siaya Governor James Orengo during a high-level meeting of the Linda Mwananchi Political Formation in Nairobi on July 17, 2026.
For Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, the Friday meeting by the three was quite symbolic and part of continuous engagements to ensure that the movement holds together.
He downplayed any cracks in the movement, saying what people are witnessing is all planned and falls within their strategy, including Mr Orengo’s candidature.
He described the Siaya Governor as the senior-most politician from the Luo community, hence key to the Linda Mwananchi movement.
“Orengo is like the Ker (leader) of the Luo nation and that is why he is also eyeing the presidency. You cannot demand to sit on the table when you are not a presidential candidate. So there is no contradiction, this is purely in house-keeping and cleaning and ensuring we walk together,” said Mr Onyonka.
On August 26, a public meeting in Karen, Nairobi, by key political figures from Nyanza laid bare what participants presented as a complex plan to lock the Nyanza voting bloc away from President William Ruto.
The meeting brought together Governor Orengo, Mr Owino, former CS and Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Fred Matiang’i, Senator Onyonka, Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, former Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo, among other leaders.
That was the second public meeting of opposition leaders from Nyanza, making it less likely to be accidental.
After the meeting, Mr Orengo simply indicated that “Nyanza is sealed, shut”, pointing to what he portrayed as a plan to ensure the region is under the opposition.
That is why he has been keen on rallies in Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori, where his meeting was disrupted last week. Generally, he wants to inherit Odinga’s bases and have the community rally behind him before engaging any other partner.
“When we met in Karen, that was our agenda where we resolved to have Orengo go to the ground and declare his candidature because that is the only way he can sit on the table as an equal and carry the interests and aspirations of his community,” said Mr Onyonka.
Mr Onyonka said he has been speaking to Owino, Sifuna and Orengo when there is a misunderstanding. In Odinga’s absence, no single leader can hold the entire Nyanza region. So, opposition leaders appear to have settled on a power-sharing arrangement.
The plan, as described by Mr Onyonka, is simple and strategic: Dr Matiang’i consolidates the Gusii vote and is already making inroads in Kuria. On the other hand, Orengo moves to inherit Odinga’s Luo Nyanza political base, seen as the most charismatic heir to Raila in Luo land.
If the plan succeeds, both ODM and President Ruto are likely to have an uphill task in getting votes and elective seats from a region that has traditionally voted as a bloc.
Political analysts say that the movement must balance the enthusiasm around Mr Sifuna with Mr Orengo’s demand for an inclusive process, while avoiding the kind of internal divisions that could weaken its broader campaign against President Ruto.
“As one of the movement’s senior figures, Orengo remains too influential to easily side-line. At the same time, Sifuna has built significant momentum among supporters who see him as the movement’s natural presidential candidate,” said advocate Chris Omore.
The lunch with Mr Owino, he argues, may therefore have been more than a routine planning meeting.
“It was also a carefully timed show of political solidarity, an attempt to ensure that a contest over who should lead the opposition does not become a fight that tears the movement apart,” added Mr Omore.
For Linda Mwananchi, the immediate challenge is to turn the Friday show of unity into a working political arrangement that allows Mr Orengo and Mr Sifuna to compete without destroying the coalition they are both seeking to lead.
See also analysis in the Weekly Review
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