Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has revealed why he did not show up at the Orange Democratic Movement parliamentary group meeting in Mombasa on Monday, 4th May, 2026, saying he stayed away after getting a report of a plot to attack him at the venue.
Speaking on Inooro FM, on Tuesday 5th May 2026, Sifuna said it has become a pattern within ODM to deploy gangs to cause chaos whenever dissenting members like himself turn up at party meetings, and that Mombasa was no different.
“I could not attend that meeting. There are many planned party meetings, and they want you to attend their meetings so that you are attacked. They organize gangs to attack you. There were also gangs in Kilifi during the first meeting,” he said.
“The same was also seen in Mombasa; there were gangs that were deployed to cause chaos,” he added.
Sifuna said the reason he is being targeted within the party is because he does not support ODM backing President William Ruto for the 2027 elections. He said that this reason has made him a problem for some people in the party.
“The only thing that is causing divisions within ODM is some members supporting President Ruto for the 2027 elections. That is the only problem they have with me,” he said.
He also cast doubt on whether the ongoing talks to resolve tensions within ODM are being conducted in good faith, saying some leaders are not genuine in their desire to find a solution.
“Our brothers are not genuine during these talks. Mama Ida Odinga has asked us that we solve the tensions within the party before holding these formal meetings,” he noted.
Sifuna also invoked the legacy of ODM founder Raila Odinga, saying the late leader always insisted that the party must only form coalitions with partners who share its values.
He argued that aligning with Ruto goes against everything ODM stands for.
Sifuna is among the key faces of the Linda Mwananchi faction, alongside Siaya Governor James Orengo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, and other dissenting ODM members who have been touring the country criticising the Ruto administration.
The Mombasa meeting, which Sifuna skipped, brought together close to 100 members of ODM’s parliamentary group, 13 governors, and the party’s National Executive Council.
