Why Sifuna’s fate could be sealed in 60 days

ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna faces an uncertain future as the opposition outfit plans a National Delegates Conference in October to overhaul the national leadership.

 Sources say looming elections could give the Orange Party a chance to get rid of officials opposed to the party’s new arrangement with President William Ruto’s ruling UDA.

There has been mounting disquiet in the party over Sifuna’s increasingly combative stance, especially his opposition to the broad-based government.

 Already, calls for the resignation of the Nairobi senator are getting louder following his snub of the joint Parliamentary Group meeting on Monday.

 Kilelesha MCA Robert Alai questioned why Sifuna is still the ODM secretary general.

  “We should have a new SG in ODM today,” Alai said.

 Several insiders said  Sifuna’s position will feature prominently during the scheduled NDC.

 “The Central Committee set October as the month for convening the National Delegates Convention,” ODM Central Committee in its July 15 meeting resolved. 

 “The NDC will, among other matters, consider reports from party organs, review and adopt party policy positions, elect national officials and chart the path forward in readiness for the 2027 general election.”

 Sifuna, a vocal and visible face of ODM, has recently found himself at odds with senior party figures, including those within Raila's inner circle.

 His outspoken criticism of Ruto-Raila deal has won him admirers among a section of supporters, but drawn ire from seasoned loyalists who accuse him of sowing discord and undermining the top leadership.

 Sifuna had questioned the legitimacy of the Memorandum of Understanding underpinning the deal, raising concerns over its implementation and transparency.

 During a recent TV interview, he declared that the ODM–UDA pact was “dead,” citing ongoing police brutality and the death of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody on June 8.

 “On the day Albert Ojwang died in a police cell, for me, this agreement is dead,” Sifuna said.

 Ahead of the key meeting, there is speculation that the NDC could move to censure Sifuna, following his recent political positioning that is largely deemed incompatible with the party’s stance.

 Several ODM loyalists have in the recent week fired warnings at the Nairobi senator.

 Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma last month demanded his resignation for what he terms 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.

Weighing in on the fallout, Alego Usonga MP Sam Atandi also told off the Sifuna, saying ODM is not short of options for the party’s spokesperson position.

''If you threaten us that you can leave ODM, you are free to leave, even Jared Okello (Nyando MP) is here; he can take up the responsibility. He has better English; he was schooled in England and has better English than these leaders purporting to be speaking for the party,'' Atandi said.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

Whether the ODM leader will come to Sifuna’s defence—or let the party machinery take its course—remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the NDC will be a moment of reckoning not just for ODM’s internal cohesion, but also for Sifuna’s standing in the country’s shifting political landscape.