Edwin Sifuna has made it clear, he is not going anywhere quietly, but he is also not staying where he feels he doesn’t belong.
The ODM Secretary General took the stage at a charged ‘People’s National Delegates Convention at Ufungamano House on Friday, 27th March, 2026.
Sifuna appeared to signal his departure from the party’s top administrative role, firing a direct shot at the new ODM leadership under Dr. Oburu Oginga.
“It has been the honour of my life to be the Secretary General of probably the greatest politician this country will ever see, Raila Amollo Odinga,” he told the crowd.
He then turned up the heat, saying that he has worked for as the SG of ODM for the late Raila Odinga for 8 years and he cannot be Oburu’s SG.
“Sasa nataka mniangalie vizuri; yaani mnataka kuniambia naweza kuwa katibu mkuu wa ODM, katibu mkuu wa Raila Odinga, miaka nane, and then I become the SG of mediocrity? Oburu tafuta SG wako, mimi siwezi kuwa SG wa Oburu. I will not be the SG of mediocrity, after Raila Odinga, you characters don’t deserve me.”
The remarks, widely read as a public rebuke of the new ODM order following Raila Odinga’s death, mark the sharpest escalation yet in the party’s internal power struggle.
Sifuna leads the Linda Mwananchi faction, which has been at odds with the Linda Ground faction allied to the ruling government, the same faction that on the same day held its own Special Delegates Convention where Oburu was formally ratified as party leader.
Despite the defiant tone, the Nairobi Senator was quick to remind supporters that his political survival does not hinge on any single office.
“Sifuna sio mwoga, kazi yoyote ambayo mtanituma kufanya kwa ajili ya taifa la Kenya, hiyo kazi ndio Sifuna atafanya. Nafasi zote za uongozi Kenya hii, zinapeanwa na nyinyi wananchi; leo nikinyang’anywa nafasi yoyote, mimi naamini mtanirudishia yote 2027,” he stated.
He also made clear that he has no personal attachment to the Secretary General title, but insisted that any attempt to replace him must follow the party’s constitution to the letter.
“Sifuna was not born to be the Secretary General of ODM forever. Ndani ya chama kuna vijana wengi ambao wanaweza kufanya hii kazi, lakini ukitaka kureplace Sifuna fuata katiba ya chama; itisha NDC ambayo kila mtu anaenda kwa debe, walete candidate wao alafu akutane na mimi,” he said.
He closed with a warning to those he accused of selling out Raila’s legacy.
“Sisi kama Linda Mwananchi tutakuwa na line up yetu, tutapatana na hao wakora ambao wamechukua pesa kuuza chama cha Raila Amollo Odinga, tuone ni nani atashinda,” he concluded.
ODM’s post-Raila era is proving to be anything but smooth, and Sifuna just made sure everyone knows it.
