Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna addresses a rally in Kitengela town on February 15, 2026/ FILE
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has suffered a major political setback after the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) National Executive Committee (NEC) officially removed him from his position as the party's secretary-general.
The decision was announced on Monday by acting ODM Secretary-General Catherine Omanyo following a meeting of the party's top decision-making organ.
Reading the NEC resolution, Omanyo said the committee had considered a report by the party's Internal Dispute Resolution Committee (IDRC), which had been constituted under Article 51.3(f) of the ODM constitution to hear and determine a complaint against Sifuna in his capacity as secretary-general.
"The NEC received and considered the report of the party's Internal Dispute Resolution Committee and, after going through the findings under Article 74(2) of the party constitution, unanimously resolved to adopt the committee's recommendations and endorsed the removal from office of Senator Edwin Watenya Sifuna," Omanyo said.
She added that the decision takes immediate effect, meaning Sifuna ceases to hold the office of secretary-general of the party.
In justifying its position, the party cited remarks made by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), which underscored the importance of internal party discipline and accountability.
"The day any official of a party becomes above the law, so to speak, will be the day of the funeral of political party democracy in Kenya. If such a situation were to occur as a matter of fact, this tribunal would never sanction the same by law, for such would be an affront to the law," the tribunal stated.
The tribunal further noted that it was reluctant to interfere with a political party's disciplinary mechanisms, arguing that doing so would amount to micromanaging political parties.
The ODM NEC also extended its best wishes to Sifuna following his removal from office.
"We take this opportunity to wish our former secretary-general well in his future endeavours and engagements," Omanyo said.
This comes days after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruled that Senator Sifuna was not accorded a fair hearing before the decision to remove him as ODM SG was taken.
In a judgement delivered on Thursday by Tribunal Chair Gad Gathu on behalf of the panel, the tribunal found that the decision-making process at the ODM National Executive Committee (NEC) level was procedurally defective, particularly on notice, agenda setting, and the opportunity to respond to allegations.
“The complainant was not accorded a fair hearing prior to the resolution to remove him from office,” the tribunal stated.
The tribunal further held that there was no evidence that Sifuna had been notified that his conduct would be discussed during the NEC meeting held earlier.
It noted that the tentative agenda did not include any reference to disciplinary discussion concerning him.
“There is no evidence that the complainant was informed of any change in the agenda in the discussion of his conduct to enable him to appear accordingly,” the tribunal observed.
At the centre of the dispute was the NEC resolution, which sought to remove Sifuna from office.
The tribunal, however, found that the resolution could not stand in its entirety due to the breach of fair hearing principles.
“We therefore find that the complainant was not accorded a fair hearing prior to the resolution to remove him from office,” the tribunal reiterated.
However, the tribunal was careful to draw a distinction between procedural fairness and the merits of disciplinary action.
It noted that Sifuna had not argued that he should be entirely exempt from disciplinary proceedings but rather challenged the manner in which the process was conducted.
