Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna left the country for a three-day regional meeting in South Africa ahead of major political charm offensive in Kalonzo Musyoka’s Ukambani backyard.
The Linda Mwanachi team have announced they will pitch camp
in Machakos to popularise their movement.
Sifuna left the country on Wednesday for the prestigious
Spier Dialogue, a high-level gathering convened by the Platform for African
Democrats.
The forum is expected to bring together political leaders,
scholars and policy experts from across the continent to deliberate on the role
of Africa’s growing youth population in governance and democratic
participation.
The embattled ODM secretary general is among leaders invited
to contribute to discussions on how young people can be better integrated into
decision-making structures amid growing demands for accountability and
political reforms across Africa.
“Africa’s youth are on the march as the cadre of ageing autocrats that have ruled in many countries for decades fail to meet their aspirations,” read part of the invite seen by the Star.
Sifuna is expected back in the country early next week in
time for the Linda Mwananchi rally in Machakos county.
The Machakos charm offensive is designed to consolidate
opposition support in the Ukambani region while also testing political waters
ahead of next year’s elections.
The rally is likely to attract significant political
attention at a time there is internal push to have the Nairobi senator
challenge President William Ruto in the next year’s elections.
Observers say the timing of the Linda Mwananchi visit is
strategic, coming as opposition figures intensify grassroots mobilisation
campaigns across different regions in an effort to sustain pressure on
President William Ruto’s administration.
Before leaving the country, Sifuna announced that the
movement will hold a political rally in Machakos town, which is Wiper leader
Kalonzo Musyoka’s stronghold.
The Sifuna-led movement has been traversing the country in a
bid to popularise its agenda and aim to outdo its rivals in the Linda ground faction of ODM.
Siaya Governor James Orengo has described the Linda mwananchi movement
a political tsunami that will sweep downstream anyone standing in its way.
“The Linda Mwananchi team is landing in the heartbeat of
Masaku. We are bringing the grassroots movement straight to your doorstep to
talk matters accountability, economic liberation and real solutions to ordinary mwananchi,” Orengo said on Thursday.
