Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli. /FRANCIS ATWOLI/XCotu secretary general Francis Atwoli has made a candid admission that he was ready to confront Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna for contradicting ODM leader Raila Odinga over the party’s MoU with President William Ruto’s UDA, only to change his mind after witnessing the overwhelming support Sifuna enjoys at the grassroots.
Speaking on Friday during an ODM delegates’ meeting in Kakamega, Atwoli revealed that he was baffled by Sifuna’s remarks earlier in the week, which dismissed the ODM-UDA deal as “dead.”
He said he had initially intended to raise the matter directly with Raila but was shocked by the applause Sifuna received from party delegates.
“Sasa sikilizeni, hata mimi sikujua mko namna hii. Mheshimiwa Sifuna,” Atwoli began, to loud cheers from the crowd.
“Juzi karibu niulize Baba, lakini Baba alikuwa nje. Baada ya kumsikiliza Sifuna kwa TV, nikasema 'why is this young man contradicting the party leader?' Kumbe sikujua ni nyinyi mko nyuma ya Sifuna. Leo ndio nimejua,” he said.
(Now listen, even I didn’t know you were like this. Honourable Sifuna, the other day I almost asked Baba [Raila], but Baba was out of the country. After I heard Sifuna on TV, I asked myself....Turns out I didn’t know you people are the ones backing Sifuna. Today I have come to understand)
Atwoli’s remarks came just moments after Sifuna delivered a rousing speech reaffirming his loyalty to Raila Odinga, despite his growing criticism of the working relationship between ODM and the Ruto administration.
(Baba alinichukuwa nikiwa 35 years, nitakuwa nakosea kama sitaheshimu Baba (Raila nurtured me since I was 35, I would be wrong to disrespect him)," Sifuna told the delegates whose trust in his leadership skills he said has contributed to him being ODM secretary general for eight years running.
Speaking on Citizen TV Tuesday night, Sifuna had declared that the ODM-UDA MoU was no longer tenable, citing violations of its key tenets, particularly the commitment to end police brutality.
He said when the parties met recently with a view to reviewing the terms and conditions, he asked out.
“I have asked respectfully that I be left out of that team because I have already declared this MoU dead. So, there’s no point; I’m not a mortician. There’s no point in going to review a document that I have already declared dead,” Sifuna said.
He added that the MoU lost its legitimacy the moment blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang’ died in police custody, calling it a betrayal of the opposition’s promise to protect citizens from extrajudicial actions.
His declaration triggered backlash from some party quarters, including Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, who said Sifuna had overstepped.
“We are in ODM, and we are in the broad-based government, and in that government, there was a MoU that was signed. The only person who can declare that the MoU is dead or alive is Baba alone,” Junet said.
However, Raila defended Sifuna, maintaining that the secretary general was entitled to his views.
“If Sifuna has spoken, he has every right to do so. If you disagree with him, say your piece too,” Raila said at the same Kakamega meeting, in a move seen as reaffirming the party’s tolerance for dissent.
Sifuna, a vocal opposition figure, has become increasingly dismissive of the ODM-UDA pact in recent weeks, arguing that it undermines the party’s moral standing and fails to address police brutality and growing public anger over economic hardships.
The Kakamega episode has now positioned Atwoli, long seen as one of Raila’s staunchest defenders, as a surprising voice of moderation, admitting that the party must reckon with the reality of grassroots sentiment.
