Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has demanded the resignation or removal of Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, for what he claims is fuelling confusion within the party.
“He must resign or be thrown out of the ODM party. The faster this happens, the better,” Kaluma said in a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday.
His remarks
add to mounting calls from within ODM ranks for disciplinary action against
Sifuna, whom some party leaders say has shown blatant disrespect to
the party’s leadership and core ideologies.
Sifuna is under intense fire following his public criticism of the Broad-Based government framework, a product of the bipartisan deal between President William Ruto and ODM party leader Raila Odinga.
Sifuna had questioned the legitimacy of the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) underpinning the deal, raising concerns over its
implementation and transparency.
During a
recent TV interview, Sifuna declared that the ODM–UDA pact was “dead,” citing
ongoing police brutality and the recent death of blogger and teacher Albert
Ojwang in police custody on June 8.
He said the
MoU was anchored on two pillars; protection of lives and the safeguarding of
democracy, and argued that with the continued
loss of innocent lives, the agreement no longer held meaning.
“On the day
Albert Ojwang dies in a police cell, for me, this agreement is dead,” Sifuna
said during the interview.
His remarks
have sparked outrage across the political divide, with both Azimio and Kenya
Kwanza leaders criticising the ODM Secretary-General for what they termed as
rogue and misleading statements.
Suna East MP
Junet Mohamed, a close ally of Raila Odinga, dismissed Sifuna’s sentiments,
insisting the senator does not speak on behalf of the party.
Junet warned
that such reckless commentary risks undermining progress achieved through the
delicate bipartisan negotiations.
Kenya Kwanza
leaders have also weighed in, accusing Sifuna of political doublespeak and
attempting to derail national unity efforts.
As pressure
mounts from both inside and outside the party, Sifuna’s position as ODM
Secretary-General appears increasingly precarious, with demands growing louder
for him to either retract his remarks or exit the party’s leadership
