Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna vows to challenge his second removal as ODM Secretary-General in court, as Linda Mwananchi faction postpones Kisii rallies to honor Gen Z protest victims.
It's déjà vu in ODM — and Edwin Sifuna isn't backing down without a fight.
The embattled Nairobi Senator has announced plans to move to court for the second time this year, challenging the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) decision to remove him as Secretary-General. The announcement came during a Tuesday morning press briefing convened by the Linda Mwananchi faction in Nairobi.
A Decision They've Seen Before
Speaking on behalf of Sifuna, Suba South MP Caroli Omondi didn't hold back. He told journalists the faction had only learned of the NEC's latest resolution "late last evening," and that the decision mirrored the one made back in February — a move the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) later found unlawful for violating Sifuna's right to a fair hearing.
"On the face of it, the decision is similar to the one made in February, which was unfair and unconstitutional," Omondi said.
That February ouster was nullified earlier this month, on June 18, when the tribunal ruled that ODM had failed to give Sifuna proper notice that his conduct would be discussed before the NEC voted to remove him. The tribunal, however, did not stop there — it cleared the party to pursue fresh disciplinary action against Sifuna, provided it followed due process this time.
ODM appears to have done exactly that. On Monday, June 22, the NEC — chaired by National Chairperson Gladys Wanga and held in the presence of party leader Oburu Oginga — once again voted unanimously to remove Sifuna, this time citing a report from the party's Internal Disputes Resolution Committee (IDRC). Acting Secretary-General Catherine Omanyo announced that the removal took immediate effect.
Linda Mwananchi Cries Foul Again
For the Linda Mwananchi camp, the second removal smells like a repeat of the same procedural shortcuts. Omondi said the faction was confident the courts would side with Sifuna again, just as they did in February.
"We are convinced to test the propriety of the purported ouster in court because we believe it should suffer the same fate as the February ouster," he said.
The standoff is widely seen as a proxy battle over ODM's cooperation agreement with President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza administration — a deal Sifuna has openly and repeatedly criticized, putting him at odds with party figures pushing closer ties with the ruling coalition.
Rallies Postponed for Gen Z Anniversary
In a notable show of solidarity, the Linda Mwananchi faction also announced the postponement of its planned rallies in Kisii and Keroka, originally set for June 26, to July 3 instead. The group said the shift was made deliberately to allow members to join the nationwide commemorations marking the anniversary of last year's Gen Z protests.
"We will join Kenyans in standing in solidarity with the victims of the Gen Z protests," the statement read.
With both sides digging in, the courtroom showdown now shapes up as the next major flashpoint in ODM's internal power struggle — one that could determine not just Sifuna's political fate, but the direction of the party itself heading into the next election cycle.
