Key veteran politicians from Western Kenya, who once dominated the region’s politics and held senior positions in previous governments, are rallying behind Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s presidential ambitions.
This is viewed as turning their back on Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, who are the most senior politicians from the region.
Former Cabinet ministers Musikari Kombo, Fred Gumo, Noah Wekesa, Philip Masinde, and ex-MPs Joash Wamang’oli (Webuye West) and Bifwoli Wakoli (Bumula) are among the political veterans publicly backing the Linda Mwananchi presidential aspirant.
Former Westlands MP Fred Gumo addresses journalists during a funeral meeting of former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo at the late politician's home in Gigiri, Nairobi on December 14, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Businessman Ibrahim Ambwere has also emerged as a key supporter of the Nairobi senator, while Tongaren MP and DAP-K Secretary-General Eseli Simiyu recently abandoned the Eugene Wamalwa-led party to join Mr Sifuna’s camp.
Most of the veterans served as Cabinet ministers or MPs under former presidents Daniel arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki. Some were also political allies of the late former Vice-President Michael Kijana Wamalwa and opposition chief Masinde Muliro
The elders have increasingly used public forums and funerals to push for Mr Sifuna’s presidential bid, arguing that the time has come for the younger generation to take over leadership of the Luhya community.
Last weekend, Mr Gumo, 81, a former Westlands MP who served from 1994 to 2013, criticised Kiminini MP Kakai Bisau for allegedly attempting to bar him from discussing politics during the burial of ex-Cabinet minister Burudi Nabwera. He publicly endorsed Mr Sifuna's presidential bid
“We have come here for the burial of Burudi Nabwera, who was a politician, and he has to be buried with politics. You can’t take a politician who was a minister and you want to bury him as a pastor,” Mr Gumo said.
He added: “As Luhyas, we already have a presidential candidate. In 1992, when we got multiparty democracy, those who didn’t follow Martin Shikuku and (Kijana) Wamalwa were beaten. Now, please, let us support Sifuna. Here in Trans Nzoia, our father is (Governor) Natembeya, and if he is targeted, then you people are targeted.”
Mr Wekesa, 90, who chairs the Luhya Elders Forum, has also been spearheading Mr Sifuna’s presidential ambitions. He assumed the role of leadership at the elders’ outfit following the death of former nominated MP Patrick Wangamati.
Former Cabinet Minister Dr Noah Wekesa during an interview at Kitale Club in Trans Nzoia County on September 10, 2021.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
Speaking to the Nation this week, Mr Wekesa said his responsibility was to advise politicians in both the government and opposition on the direction the community should take to ensure its votes are consolidated behind one candidate.
“We really want unity and to rally the Luhya to vote in one basket, and that is what I have been preaching all this time. We have more than half of our politicians in government and others in opposition. But we can’t continue like this because we have to vote in one direction,” said Mr Wekesa, who served as Forestry minister in the Grand Coalition government and represented Kwanza in Parliament from 1992 to 2013.
A few weeks ago, he said the excitement created by Mr Sifuna inspired the elders to also support him.
Mr Ambwere, who is in his late 90s, is another influential figure associated with Mr Sifuna's campaign. In July, reports emerged that he had given Mr Sifuna three vehicles to support his campaign and was prepared to finance his bid. The reports included images of the vehicles, and the family did not publicly deny them.
Mr Ambwere has business interests in real estate, agriculture and other sectors, with properties in Mbale, Kisumu, Nairobi, Kakamega and Kitale.
During the teachers’ strikes in the 1980s under President Moi, it is said he was willing to lend the government Sh48 million to pay teachers and allow children to return to school.
“That was a lot of money in the 80s, but I had it and I was willing to bail them out,” he said in a 2017 interview with a local media house.
Mr Kombo, 82, who last held elective office in 2007, is remembered for taking over the leadership of Ford Kenya in 2003 following Mr Wamalwa’s death and was even touted as his successor in the region’s kingpin politics.
He said the time had come for younger leaders like Mr Sifuna to take charge, with the elders providing guidance and support.
“Now it is time for the youth to fight, and as elders, we have to bless them. As elders, we had the baton, and we are handing it over to Sifuna, who has come up to lead us. Wetang’ula and Mudavadi are above 60, and if they are good elders, they should hand over to Sifuna,” Mr Kombo told the Nation .
He added: “Sifuna is very well received in Western and other regions. He is above the level of our late leaders Masinde Muliro and (Kijana) Wamalwa. These two leaders have given birth to Sifuna, and where they are, they must be happy for him.”
Mr Wamang’oli, 74, said Mr Sifuna’s time had come and that Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula should retire from frontline politics. He dismissed suggestions that the two could pursue the presidency in 2032.
“I worked with Muliro and Wamalwa, and I knew them well. They were heroes in their own right, but they cannot reach Sifuna’s level. Sifuna is way above them in uniting the community, and he can only be compared to Obama. He has the spirit of Raila, and when he is on stage, you see people dancing, and he doesn’t pay anybody to come to his meetings,” Mr Wamang’oli said in an interview, asking Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula to say what they have done for the region.
Mr Wamang’oli represented Webuye in Parliament from 1988 to 1992 and later served as chairman of Nzoia Sugar for six years.
Mr Wakoli, a former Bumula MP, has also expressed confidence in Mr Sifuna’s prospects, saying the 2027 election offers the Mulembe community an opportunity to make a decisive statement in national politics.
“Sifuna is an idea whose time has come, and those who are opposing him are destined to go to political oblivion,” Mr Wakoli said in a recent interview with the Nation .
