OPINION | Why Sifuna is the highest graduate of ‘Raila Odinga Academy of Politics’
The late ODM occasion chief Raila Odinga with the then ODM Secretary Basic and now Linda Mwananchi Motion chief Edwin Sifuna. PHOTO/UGC.
By PATRICK MAYOYO
I’ve adopted Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s political journey with eager curiosity since his election to the Senate and subsequent appointment as Secretary-Basic of the Orange Democratic Motion (ODM).
I’ve watched him navigate the treacherous waters of Kenyan politics, confront highly effective adversaries and problem even these inside his personal then political household (ODM).
But, of all the teachings he seems to have learnt alongside the best way, one stands out: the power to stay calm when the political floor beneath his ft is shifting, to assume a number of strikes forward and to maintain his playing cards near his chest.
It is because of this that I’ve come to treat Sifuna as one of the vital achieved college students to emerge from the political college of the late ODM political dynamo Raila Amolo Odinga.
Essentially the most fascinating lesson Sifuna has demonstrated is that political battles will not be at all times gained by the loudest voice within the room. Generally, victory belongs to the one that understands the battlefield effectively sufficient to know when to talk, when to stay silent and when to make a transfer that adjustments every thing.
That lesson turned significantly evident because the deadline approached for political events to submit the names and specimen signatures of officers authorised to signify them in electoral issues forward of the 2027 Basic Election.
Out of the blue, the query of which political occasion Sifuna would use to pursue his presidential ambitions turned a topic of intense hypothesis. His supporters have been anxious. His critics have been watching expectantly. Political rivals appeared satisfied that the doorways to his presidential ambitions have been closing one after one other.
First got here experiences that Sifuna would contest on the ticket of a brand new outfit known as the Ukombozi Folks’s Occasion. There have been claims that he had secured the United Democratic Occasion, related to the late Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, and meant to rebrand it. However the proposed title change bumped into regulatory difficulties, whereas people related to the occasion challenged the alleged takeover and adjustments to its management.
Then got here one other chance. Embakasi East MP Babu Owino was reported to have secured the Muungano Occasion, related to former Makueni Governor Professor Kivutha Kibwana, with plans to rebrand it because the Mwananchi Occasion. Different names, together with Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale’s United Patriotic Motion and Saboti MP Caleb Amisi’s Folks’s Renaissance Motion, entered the dialog.
Linda Mwananchi occasion chief and presidential aspirant Edwin Sifuna with DCP chief Rigathi Gachagua at his Wamunyoro residence. PHOTO/UGC.
Each new growth appeared to supply one other query. Each potential escape route appeared to result in one other political complication.
However beneath the noise, a extra elementary downside was rising. A number of the events being mentioned have been reportedly not duly registered underneath the names being proposed, whereas others had hyperlinks to the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition. Becoming a member of a coalition occasion wouldn’t essentially give Sifuna the liberty to pursue his personal presidential ambitions.
Unbeknown to many Sifuna supporters, part 22 of the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition settlement offered that the Azimio occasion chief was the automated presidential candidate. And as they are saying that was a catch-22 state of affairs.
To Sifuna supporters, the state of affairs regarded more and more determined. To his opponents, it might have appeared that the political lure was closing. Then Sifuna did one thing that, looking back, revealed the distinction between a politician reacting to occasions and a strategist shaping them.
He known as a disaster assembly. These round him wished solutions. Which occasion would he use? Had each choice been exhausted? Was the 2027 presidential dream about to be extinguished earlier than it had correctly taken flight?
Sifuna remained composed. He assured his staff that he had a celebration and would unveil it earlier than the deadline. He supplied no elaborate rationalization and revealed no title. He merely projected the arrogance of a commander who may see a manner out of a battlefield that appeared surrounded.
The code title for that operation may as effectively have been Silence. Then got here the revelation. On 4 October 2026, at Nairobi’s New Stanley Resort, Sifuna unveiled The Equitable Occasion (TEP) and declared his intention to contest the presidency within the 2027 Basic Election.
The announcement remodeled the dialog. What had appeared an more and more slim political hall immediately opened into a brand new chance.
I discovered myself reflecting on Raila and the sort of political training he imparted to the youthful leaders round him. I started to know why he had entrusted Sifuna with the demanding duty of serving as secretary-general of one among Kenya’s most influential political events.
Sifuna with Ida Odinga, widow of the late ODM chief Raila Odinga, at a primary anniversary commemoration in Bondo. PHOTO/UGC.
Those that labored intently with Raila usually spoke of his extraordinary capacity to learn a disaster. There are accounts of him sitting quietly throughout tense conferences, generally showing nearly indifferent, solely to intervene on the decisive second with an remark that modified the path of the dialogue.
That was a part of Raila’s genius. He understood that political intelligence was not merely about figuring out what everybody else knew. It was about recognising what others had did not see.
Folks acquainted with Sifuna’s political operations have described an identical intuition. When he smiles throughout a tough assembly, they counsel, he could have already got recognized a chance that has escaped everybody else.
Whether or not one agrees with each resolution Sifuna makes or not, his dealing with of the occasion query demonstrated the worth of preparation, discretion and strategic timing.
Raila was educated as an engineer, not a political scientist. But he turned one among Kenya’s most formidable political strategists and tacticians, a person whose affect steadily prolonged far past the formal workplaces he occupied. He understood establishments, negotiations, alliances, public sentiment and the fragile arithmetic of energy. Sifuna seems decided to use a few of these classes in his personal political journey.
Earlier than his dying in October 2025, Raila had mentored quite a few younger politicians. Some turned MPs, senators, governors, members of county assemblies, Cupboard Secretaries and principal secretaries.
The unfolding disaster inside ODM is exposing a deeply troubling actuality: Raila could have been surrounded by political opportunists, self-seekers and political scavengers who have been extra concerned about exploiting his title, stature and affect than defending the rules he stood for.
A few of those that loved energy, privilege and political relevance underneath his management now seem extra involved with securing their very own political survival than defending the legacy of the person who helped construct their careers.
The query is whether or not they have been genuinely dedicated comrades in a shared political battle or merely formidable people utilizing Raila’s political capital as a stepping stone to non-public development.
DCP chief Rigathi Gachagua with Sifuna and different Linda Mwananchi leaders at his Wamunyoro residence. PHOTO/UGC.
However Sifuna has more and more attracted consideration as a result of his political decisions seem to mirror a battle over one thing bigger than private development: the identification and way forward for the spirit of Raila and his ODM dream.
Raila’s political life was constructed across the pursuit of multi-party democracy, constitutional reform, accountability, social justice and a extra equitable distribution of nationwide assets. His years of detention and political battle made him an emblem of resistance for thousands and thousands of Kenyans who believed that the nation may change into extra democratic and inclusive.
The 2010 Structure, with its dedication to devolution and the dispersal of energy, represented an vital milestone in that broader battle. ODM, which emerged as a serious political power from the 2005 constitutional referendum marketing campaign, turned an institutional dwelling for a lot of of those aspirations.
For years, the occasion introduced itself as a automobile for reform, a counterweight to established energy and a platform by way of which residents may demand accountability from those that ruled them.
It’s in opposition to this historical past that Sifuna’s disagreements with sections of ODM’s management should be understood.
Earlier than he based Linda Mwananchi ODM-splinter group he had argued that ODM should not give up its identification as an opposition motion by turning into a junior companion in President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration. He had insisted that the occasion ought to protect its independence and subject its personal presidential candidate in 2027.
For youthful supporters particularly, this place has change into a take a look at of political constancy. Can a celebration based on resistance and reform retain its soul if it turns into too intently related to the institution it as soon as challenged?
Sifuna’s confrontation with these in ODM who favoured cooperation with Ruto was subsequently greater than an inner occasion disagreement. It represented a contest over ODM’s political identification and the that means of Raila’s legacy.
I consider Raila’s biggest political tragedy wouldn’t merely be that he died with out turning into President. It could be for the beliefs he spent a long time defending to be lowered to slogans, invoked throughout campaigns however deserted when energy and private pursuits come calling.
A jovial Sifuna on the unveiling of The Equitable Occasion (TEP) on the Stanley Resort in Nairobi. PHOTO/UGC.
After all, it might be naïve to romanticise each chapter of Raila’s political profession. Kenyan politics is difficult, and alliances have usually blurred the boundaries between precept and expediency. But his enduring significance lies in the truth that he helped form the nation’s democratic dialog and gave generations of Kenyans a language by way of which to demand change.
Sifuna’s supporters see him as a defender of that custom. His willingness to criticise each the federal government and components inside his former personal occasion has strengthened his picture as a politician ready to problem authority, even when doing so carries private and political dangers.
His work within the Senate, his outspoken communication model and his capacity to attach with youthful Kenyans have helped him set up a definite political identification. His slogan, Mimi Ndio Sifuna, has additionally impressed the response Sisi Ndio Sifuna amongst supporters who determine together with his message.
There’s something politically important about that transformation. A slogan that begins as a politician’s private declaration turns into extra highly effective when supporters flip it right into a collective assertion. It means that they see their very own frustrations, hopes and aspirations mirrored within the individual they’re endorsing.
But charisma, slogans and political manoeuvring will not be sufficient to control a rustic. The presidency calls for way over the power to outwit rivals, command public consideration or survive occasion intrigues. It requires sound judgement, administrative competence, financial understanding, respect for establishments and the power to deliver collectively residents with competing pursuits.
That is the place the concept of statecraft turns into vital. Statecraft is the artwork of exercising public energy correctly: understanding establishments, managing competing pursuits, conducting negotiations, defending nationwide pursuits and making strategic selections in pursuit of nationwide aims. Raila understood these dimensions of politics and remained influential for many years, even with out occupying State Home.
Sifuna’s rising political journey means that he understands not less than one important lesson: energy just isn’t merely about acquiring workplace. It’s also about understanding the principles, establishments and relationships by way of which energy is exercised.
That brings me to what I think about probably the most consequential growth in Sifuna’s political messaging.
For many years, Kenyan presidential campaigns have revolved round guarantees. Candidates arrive with manifestos thick sufficient to require their very own briefcases. They promise roads, dams, hospitals, markets, stadiums, reasonably priced housing, jobs and billions of shillings in funding.
Then the election passes, governments change, and the guarantees are repackaged. Some are fulfilled, some are deserted, some are renamed, whereas others disappear into the nice Kenyan political graveyard of tutafanya; we will do it.
Sifuna with Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi and different leaders at a previous occasion. PHOTO/UGC.
Sifuna’s constitutional emphasis affords a unique manner of framing the nationwide debate. As a substitute of asking solely what a presidential candidate guarantees to construct, Kenyans also needs to ask how that candidate intends to train energy. The excellence is key.
Article 10 of the Structure of Kenya, 2010, binds public establishments and officers to nationwide values and rules of governance, together with the rule of regulation, democracy, public participation, human dignity, fairness, social justice, human rights, integrity, transparency, accountability and sustainable growth.
These will not be ornamental phrases meant to beautify speeches. They’re constitutional obligations.
A authorities can announce spectacular tasks whereas disregarding public participation, mismanaging public assets or weakening accountability. It may promise prosperity whereas residents battle to know how selections affecting their lives are made. Improvement issues, however so does the style wherein it’s pursued.
If the 2027 election turns into one other public sale of growth guarantees, an incumbent president will naturally benefit from the benefit of controlling the equipment of presidency and pointing to ongoing tasks, new programmes and public investments.
However what occurs if voters start asking a unique query? Not merely, what’s going to you construct for me? However, how will you train energy over me, and what safeguards will stop you from abusing it?
That query is way extra demanding. It requires candidates to clarify how they’ll respect the Structure, defend public assets, strengthen unbiased establishments and make sure that residents can maintain their leaders accountable.
It’s also a query that can’t be answered with a slogan alone. Anybody searching for the presidency should show how constitutional rules will translate into sensible governance and measurable enhancements in folks’s lives.
That is the place Sifuna’s political undertaking will in the end be examined. His capacity to navigate occasion politics could have demonstrated tactical intelligence, however the problem of nationwide management is on one other scale completely.
Can he flip constitutional constancy right into a convincing financial programme? Can he construct a broad nationwide coalition with out abandoning his rules? Can he remodel youthful enthusiasm into a reputable governing agenda that speaks to the farmer, the employee, the dealer, the unemployed graduate and the struggling household?
These are the questions that can decide whether or not he’s merely an achieved political tactician or a critical contender for nationwide management.
For now, I see in Sifuna a politician who has learnt vital classes from Raila Odinga’s college of politics: persistence, timing, strategic considering, braveness in confrontation and an appreciation of the establishments by way of which energy operates. However the final examination remains to be forward.
Raila’s legacy can’t be inherited just by occupying a outstanding political place, invoking his title or mastering the methods of political survival. It should be earned by way of conduct, public service and an unwavering dedication to the democratic beliefs he championed.
Sifuna has demonstrated that he is aware of how you can survive a political storm. Whether or not he can construct a reputable nationwide different, govern responsibly and ship on the promise of a extra simply Kenya stays to be seen.
And that, maybe, is an important lesson from Raila Odinga’s Academy of Politics: the true take a look at of a scholar just isn’t how brilliantly he performs within the classroom, however what he does when the examination begins.
For Sifuna, the examination of 2027 is approaching. The political chessboard has been set. The general public is watching. And the nation is ready to see whether or not the person who learnt to anticipate the following transfer can persuade Kenyans that he’s prepared to assist decide the nation’s future.
The author is an editor at Eyewitness Media Group.
