By Anderson Ojwang
Edwin Watenya Sifuna can easily relate to the biblical verse of the stone that was rejected but has now begun to reign. Rejected at his home, Kanduyi, and by the party, thrown to the vultures, Sifuna’s spirits refused to fade but came back stronger and brighter.
Apart from Kisumu Governor Prof Peter Anyang Nyong’o, who identified, believed and trusted in Sifuna, and later the former Prime Minister and the immediate former Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, the late Raila Amolo Odinga, the majority, including his villagers in Kanduyi, never saw any potential in him.
In Nyong’o, he has a simple prophecy that Sifuna was made for the future when he first identified him, and a decade later, his prophecy has come to pass with his emergence as a potential presidential candidate.
Nyong’o headhunted Sifuna to be the ODM Secretary-General and predicted that he was built for the future.
“I think none of you knows how Edwin Sifuna came into ODM. The guy is built for the future. If you don’t know what I am saying, go home and think,” he predicted then.
No honours for a king at home
They say a king is not honoured at his home. While he may draw respect in other regions, back at home, he is belittled and frowned upon until that time his prominence becomes so significant that they cannot ignore him.
That will be the time they turn around not to recognise but to woo him because of the trappings.
In the 2017 ODM primaries in Kanduyi, Sifuna, as the ODM Secretary-General, failed to win the nomination, and instead, the constituency went for the alternative. Sifuna came second with 3,111 votes to John Makali, who won with 6,473 votes, while Gilbert Wangila came last with 234 votes.
No letting up
Raila and Nyong’o did not give up on Sifuna and gave him a direct ticket for the Nairobi senatorial election.
In the 2017 elections, Sifuna lost to then-Jubilee candidate Johnson Sakaja after garnering 691,414 votes against the winner’s 832,841.
In 2022, Sifuna easily rode to victory, defeating United Democratic Alliance candidate Bishop Margaret Wanjiru after he garnered 716,651 votes, while she came second with 524,091 votes.
The loss did not thaw Sifuna’s quest for elective office, and he became very visible in ODM, becoming part and parcel of the then-party leader Raila Odinga’s political activities.
Sifuna found himself in the blanket of teargas fumes and protests, endearing himself to the electorate.
Rejected by ODM
After the death of Raila, Sifuna found himself on the wrong side of the story and became a victim of emerging political circumstances: the ODM-UDA pre-election coalition pact.
ODM sacked Sifuna from the post of Secretary-General over his opposition to the alliance.
In a statement, ODM said: “Party National Executive Committee meeting in Mombasa today has resolved to relieve Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna of his responsibilities with immediate effect. Effectively, Catherine Omanyo, who is one of the deputy secretaries-general, will act in this position until a substantive holder of the office is elected.”
ODM Party leader Dr Oburu Oginga had invited NEC members for a meeting meant to crack the whip on Sifuna, Deputy Party Leader Geoffrey Osotsi and his younger sister Ruth Odinga.
“The minority will have their say but the majority will have their way, and so those with dissenting voices must respect the wishes of the majority. Democracy must be guided,” he said.
But the decision by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to effect the sacking of Sifuna came too little, too late in the battle.
In a letter dated 9th July 2026, signed by J.C. Lorionokou, effecting the removal of Sifuna as Secretary-General to have been in line with the Political Parties Act and the ODM constitution, the Sifuna political train had already left the station.
“Upon the review of the documents submitted by the party and lack of response from Sifuna, we note that the removal of the Secretary-General was in line with the Political Parties Act and the ODM constitution. This office has effected the change and updated the party records,” it read in parts.
The rise
The sacking of Sifuna was a blessing in disguise. It marked his rise and significance in Kenya’s political terrain in the 2027 contest.
Even fellow Luhya leaders who had ignored and dismissed him woke up to the wave and quickly identified with him.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino aptly captured it, saying: “Sifuna, we will walk with you. We have gone to 16 counties, and we must go to all 47. We will have to go to the 290 constituencies. From Western, let’s go to Nyanza and ask for votes; they love you.”
Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale was more categorical and said Sifuna was a wave they never anticipated and that it was a force they could not ignore.
“I have a message for you, the Luhya community. This respect, honour and love you have shown today in Bungoma to us is humbling. There is a greater responsibility. On 10th August 2027, go and vote for Edwin Sifuna to become the President.
My work today is to speak for the 8 million Luhya people in Kenya. Why must the only two men from our community eat on our behalf? I want to beseech you, Mudavadi and Wetang’ula, go and think on and about Sifuna’s presidency,”he said.
Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya dropped his presidential ambition to support Sifuna, saying: “We have come to unveil our son Sifuna for the presidency. Now it is time to reject Mudavadi, Wetang’ula and Oparanya. We must also reject UDA and ODM parties.”
But Mudavadi dismissed them, saying: “Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi does not have what it takes to vie for the presidency. I was the first person in the Mulembe Nation to contest for the presidency, so I know the stakes. They do not have the muscles to run for something close to the President.”
Polling
The recent opinion poll by TIFA placed Sifuna ahead of all his opposition colleagues and left him sprinting behind Ruto ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.
The poll by TIFA revealed that support for Ruto stagnated in the months of May and June, remaining at 24 per cent, while Sifuna had a significant rise from 0 to 15 per cent.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who had peaked at 25 per cent, witnessed a significant drop to 13 per cent in June.
Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i, who was touted as a frontrunner earlier at 32 per cent, has currently declined to 14 per cent in the May-June polls.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua peaked at 9 per cent and has declined to 7 per cent.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, at the beginning, showed a steady rise, peaking at 8 per cent in 2025, but expressed his interest in the Nairobi governor seat. Thus, he has become dormant in the race but was still polled at 2 per cent.
Other presidential aspirants peaked at 8 per cent in 2025 but have now slumped to 2 per cent.
The people
Sifuna believes in the power of the people and told ODM leadership that they were free to take whatever Raila gave to him.
“Everything that they will take that I was given by Baba and the people, the people will give it back to me. I believe that is the truth,” he said.
The foundation Nyong’o and Raila built on a rock is becoming a nightmare in the current political climate.
