Beyond the honeymoon headlines, Sifuna’s State House bid cobwebs pop out

A Herculean task lies ahead of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who last week unfurled his 2027 presidential ambitions.

Sifuna presided over a ceremony at which his recently acquired political party, The Equitable Party (TEP), was rebranding to the Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM) Party and unveiling the interim officials of the new outfit.

It was announced during the function that LMM would hold a National Delegates Convention (NDC) on November 13, at which Sifuna would be endorsed as its presidential candidate in next year’s General Election.

With this, Sifuna has been thrust into the arena of national politics and the travails that come with it. The tougher side of his journey towards State House has just begun.

But then, with the bid to cripple his former political party, ODM, having flopped, Sifuna’s allies have started dropping out along the way, while financiers are now hiding their heads in the sand, even as friends elect to remain on the spectators’ fence.

Flashback. For the eight years he has been secretary-general of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and four years as Nairobi Senator, Edwin Sifuna has spent most of that time verbally hurling brickbats at two senior politicians from his native Western Kenya region.

In his habitual attempts to denigrate Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, Sifuna has had unwavering company in the persons of Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi and Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, with Kakamega Senator Dr Boni Khalwale and his predecessor, Cleophas Malalah, notably playing an on-and-off supporting cast role.

That has earned Sifuna and his companions catchy headlines in the Kenyan media space.

That, however, will not remain the case. It was never going to be a walk in the park. The time of reckoning has come, and the chickens are finally coming home to roost.

Insulting Mudavadi and Wetangula will not remain in vogue. Sifuna has to convincingly earn his space on the national podium. Thus, it will take more than mudslinging at senior politicians for Sifuna to garner national traction and attract respect beyond the honeymoon headlines and youth euphoria that have accorded him attention in the past.

Hitherto heralded on social media as the most popular Opposition presidential aspirant since the demise of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in October last year, the fortunes of the outspoken parliamentarian seem to be dissipating rapidly.

Unveiled at a chaotic event in the elite Lavington suburb of Nairobi, the ceremony had its own glaring realities. From the United Opposition flock, only Wiper Democratic Front Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Eugene Wamalwa of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) and Gachagua of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) showed up.

The absence of Sifuna’s fellow Luhya lawmakers and other political players who have been regular faces at his rallies has raised antennas.

Also noticeable was the absence of a considerable number of leaders from the United Opposition.

Save for Khalwale and Osotsi, the other three Luhya Members of Parliament present were from Sifuna’s own Bukusu ethnic group, the largest sub-tribe of the Luhya community.

They were Tim Wanyonyi of Westlands, Majimbo Kalasinga of Kabuchai and Jack Wamboka of Bumula.

Siaya Governor James Orengo, who has kept Sifuna company at public rallies for the last one year, was conspicuously missing.

So were the Matiang’i-leaning Gusii Members of Parliament Antony Kibagendi and Clive Gisairo, as well as Kaiti MP Joshua Kimilu and his Wundanyi counterpart, Danson Mwashako, both from Kalonzo Musyoka’s WDF.

Also notable was the absence of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has, time and again, been said to be the main financier of Sifuna and his associates; Jubilee Party leader Dr Fred Matiang’i; his National Liberation Party counterpart, Martha Karua; Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi; and Peter Munya of the Party of National Unity.

In the countdown to that eventful moment, the 44-year-old legislator was already attracting scrutiny as he grappled with issues relating to capacity, decorum, substance, finances, ethnic supremacy, independence of mind, governance and hatchet-hunting.

After nearly one year of whirlwind introduction tours across the country following Raila’s departure, Sifuna has now been left to fight the tag of a mere pawn of certain political forces from the Mt Kenya region, a crusader for Bukusu supremacy in his native Bungoma and neighbouring Trans Nzoia counties, and a political novice whose prowess is limited to the brackets of verbosity.

Branded for months as Uhuru’s project and now Gachagua’s, Sifuna is today confronted with heaps of political and logistical anthills protruding to the fore ahead of his formal declaration to bid for occupancy of State House next year.

While his name is among those touted as one of the leading presidential candidates in 2027, Sifuna has not changed a hoot. His elevated position notwithstanding, Mudavadi, Wetangula and now President William Ruto remain Sifuna’s main headline-catching targets through his unfiltered, acerbic campaign statements.

Three weeks ago, Sifuna was in his element. The Nairobi Senator was among the politicians from Western Kenya who attended the requiem mass of the late former Cabinet Minister Burudi Nabwera, an event held at the Friends Church, Lang’ata, where politicking had been ruled out.

When he was invited to speak, Sifuna broke all the laid-down guidelines and devoted his entire speech to throwing mud at Mudavadi and Wetangula (both of whom had left) and Ruto.

A day earlier, Sifuna had led a team of lawmakers allied to his political outfit to pledge loyalty to Gachagua at his Wamunyoro rural home in Nyeri, just one day after the latter returned to the country from a two-month tour of the United States.

Sifuna’s latest antics have attracted curiosity from all corners, with Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru branding him a non-starter in the 2027 presidential race.

Appearing on Citizen TV’s Sunday Live programme a fortnight ago, Waiguru poked holes in Sifuna’s bid, terming him an inexperienced rank outsider who was unprepared and lacking both the capacity and resources to mount a significant presidential campaign.

During the rebranding of his new party, Sifuna did not forget to throw barbs at Mudavadi and Wetangula, describing the two in very derivative terms.

The event witnessed Sifuna’s supporters heckling Kalonzo Musyoka, who was one of the invited guests.

It was also announced that Sifuna would, from November 22, be travelling to the United States for more than two weeks.

As he prepares to leave for the land of Uncle Sam, a myriad of challenges lies ahead of Sifuna.

The Nairobi Senator will have to realise that sloganeering is not enough to catapult one to the pedestal of national leadership. Neither is it sufficient to muster winning support or even acquire friendships across the diverse political, ethnic and religious spheres.

Similarly, it will take more than a crusade for Bukusu kingpinship and pouring vitriol on the names of Mudavadi and Wetangula.

The work ahead of the Nairobi Senator is enormous. He has to stop living in the past and stand up to the hurdles ahead of him.

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