Edwin Sifuna, the ODM secretary general and a vocal critic of President Ruto, played a surprising role in the signing of the Ruto-Odinga pact.
While Kenyans eagerly waited for the signing of the pact between President William Ruto and opposition chief Raila Odinga at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Friday, all eyes were on one individual — Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
And they had good reason to watch his every move.
Mr Sifuna, Secretary-General of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, had for months been a vocal critic of President William Ruto’s administration and dismissed the crafting of any viable political between the 20-year-old opposition party and the ruling UDA.
But Friday, March 7 was a special day — a unique platform for the ODM Secretary-General and spokesperson. He looked well-prepared for it as he took centre stage alongside his UDA counterpart Hassan Omar.
The Nairobi Senator was tasked with reading — jointly with Mr Omar — the 10-point deal President Ruto and Mr Odinga had agreed upon to supposedly ensure unity, stability and progress. As he made introductory remarks before reading the first five points, Mr Sifuna received loud applause from those at KICC and ignited social media chatter.
To keen observers, his shift was evident in Busia on February 28 during the celebrations of ODM’s 20 years of existence when he appeared to have softened his hard-line stance but still reminded the party not to lose its identity as a social democratic outfit.
President Willam Ruto and ODM party leader Raila Odinga during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between ODM and UDA at Kenyatta International Convention Center in Nairobi on March 07, 2025.
At KICC, Mr Sifuna, the party’s spokesperson, displayed a mix of emotions and wore an unusual demeanour — at times appearing uncomfortable with the situation, while at the same time acknowledging the place of realpolitik in Kenya’s often confounding political landscape.
Like the firm politician he is, Mr Sifuna was quick to clarify that he was there to carry out his constitutional mandate as ODM’s Secretary-General.
He also affirmed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been agreed upon by ODM’s top party organs and alluded to it not being a coalition agreement.
“We have taken the liberty to read out this Memorandum of Understanding so that we are all clear on what it is and what it is not. As SG (Secretary General), I want to confirm that this document has been processed through the relevant party organs,” said Mr Sifuna, asking ODM’s Central Management Committee members to stand as evidence.
He then went on to read the first part of the document before handing it over to Mr Omar.
Throughout the event, leaders and Kenyans following on social media expressed their opinions on Mr Sifuna’s presence at the deal-signing ceremony.
While some felt he should not have participated, given his hard stance against President Ruto, others believed he did the honourable thing by standing by his party leader and ensuring that the issues he has been advocating for on behalf of the party were included in the pact.
These issues included cooperation and collaboration between UDA and ODM to address concerns raised in the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco) report, the safeguarding of various rights, increased budgetary allocations to counties, ensuring integrity and checking debt among others.
This did not, however, redeem him in the eyes of critics, many of them wondering how he would conduct himself in public in the coming weeks following his party’s deal with the government.
His divergent views on the Ruto-Odinga agreement began before the formation of the broad-based government last July.
After the establishment of the new arrangement, he and other senior ODM party members maintained a hard line stance against the opposition working with Kenya Kwanza even as his party leader and a rival faction became cosier with the Ruto administration.
He was so opposed to the new arrangement between Mr Odinga and Dr Ruto that he swore that not even with Mr Odinga’s help could an embattled Dr Ruto get re-elected in 2027.
“If Raila says he will support Ruto in 2027, I will respect that decision, but I will tell him that because I have a broader view of the country, the people say that if you support him, you will fail. That is why I say these things with conviction. Personally, there is no way I can support Ruto,” he said on a morning talk show on February 20.
When pressed on the matter, he said his current stance was a political price he was willing to pay for the sake of the country, stressing that Dr Ruto would lose even with Mr Odinga’s backing because the president had fallen out with the people.
“The position of Nairobi Senator is not my birthright. I will not hold onto it forever—there will come a day when there will be another senator, just as I have predecessors. The mission in 2027 is not to make Sifuna a senator; it is to rescue our country. If it takes Sifuna losing his seat to kick William Ruto out and make him a one-term president, so be it. It is a higher calling than me being the senator,” said Mr Sifuna.
He had received backing from one faction, with senior leaders led by Interim Party Leader Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o stating that Mr Sifuna spoke for the party and Mr Odinga and should be respected. It is a message opponents like Makadara MP George Aladwa found unpalatable, even going as far as questioning Mr Sifuna’s loyalty and asking for his resignation.
The Nairobi senator has been one of Dr Ruto’s fiercest critics — in political rallies, television talk shows, podcasts, and the Senate floor — where he has been at the forefront of questioning government policies and programmes that are not working.
Alongside Siaya Governor James Orengo, he has consistently maintained that ODM should not lose its identity and that its members should not become mere "praise and worship" followers who had compromised their principles. A few days ago, he shared a widely circulated video he took with some residents of Baringo with a strong anti-Ruto message that dissuaded Mr Odinga from working with the ruling UDA.
On the receiving end of his criticism have also been his former colleagues, ODM party officials who were appointed as cabinet secretaries in Dr Ruto’s administration.
At times, his exchanges with them have been heated, particularly in Senate Committees, where he has clashed with figures such as former ODM Chairman John Mbadi, now Treasury Cabinet Secretary, over his zealous defence of the government despite their shared political history.
He has also differed with Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho, whom he threatened to summon to the Senate to explain why he was intimidating Kenyans who opposed the government. This was after Mr Joho told off social media users who were against the Ruto administration.
Most recently, he criticised Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi for not doing enough to resolve the dispute between the Nairobi County Government and Kenya Power Company.
Mr Sifuna has also consistently boycotted forums that
would require him to share a platform with Dr Ruto.
At the height of his criticism of the government, he sparked speculation when he was seen accompanying Wiper Democratic Movement Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka at a church function in Nairobi’s Dagoretti, leading to rumours that he was considering leaving ODM.
At one point, he urged opposition politicians to avoid attending the President’s church service at United
Pentecostal Church. However, many Nairobi ODM legislators defied him and attended the event.
His tough stance has not gone unchallenged, with some party members, led by Mr Aladwa, calling for his resignation for allegedly going against the party’s position to work with Dr Ruto.
Recently, when asked whether his stance reflected Mr Odinga’s position, Mr Sifuna said he has remained ODM’s Secretary-General for seven years because he does not second-guess Mr Odinga.
“The positions we hold are not permanent. Sifuna was not born to be ODM’s SG forever. I did not last seven years by second-guessing Raila. I know the man, I speak to him, and he is my guide and mentor. I say these things because I believe in them, and because Raila has always held that ODM can only walk the journey with like-minded, pro-people parties,” said Mr Sifuna last week.
He has never regretted or shied away from his stance as ODM’s SG and continues to believe that Mr Odinga can still be president without backing Dr Ruto in 2027.
“If you don’t stand by your values when they are tested, then they are hobbies. You might as well stop calling them values. Until and unless ODM complies with the law on how to interact with other political parties, I hold the position that nothing stops us from clinching power in 2027,” he said on a morning talk show.
It remains unclear whether he will tone down his attacks on the government, which had made him popular among President Ruto’s critics, and instead choose the path of the new arrangement signed on Friday that is expected to lead to a 2027 coalition.
