Cherargei Claims ODM Plans to Oust Sifuna as Secretary-General and Strip Him of Senate Whip Role
There had been no response from ODM Communications Director Philip Etale at the time of going to press.
Nairobi County Senator Edwin Sifuna speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
Samson Cherargei, a senator from Nandi, has alleged that Edwin Sifuna, a senator from Nairobi, was set to lose both his positions in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and in the Senate. Cherargei alleges that Sifuna is to be ousted from ODM Secretary General and also have his Senate Deputy Minority Whip position dewhipped within the week.
This post was made by Cherargei on his official account on X on Monday, January 5, in which he claimed that Sifuna could not keep his position for being allied with opposition politics. Cherargei asserted that trust issues have raised by Sifuna in his political conduct; however, he did not provide any documentary evidence to this.
Cherargei’s accusations were founded, according to him, upon what he referred to as Sifuna’s involvement in the 2024 impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, with his alleged political flip-flop thereafter sealing his unreliable persona. The senator from Nairobi was further alleged to have been politically inconsistent; such acts, according to Cherargei, demolish trust in his leadership.
“For clarity, Edwin Sifuna voted in favour of the impeachment, actively debated it, and mobilised support for the removal of Gachagua from office. This is captured in the Senate Hansard and clearly demonstrates deceitful and hypocritical politics,” said Cherargei.
Moving on, he argued that ODM would formally dismiss Sifuna as Secretary General while the Senate would relieve him of being deputy minority whip to clear the way for joining unrestrained ranks of opponents to the broad-based government arrangement.
There had been no response from ODM Communications Director Philip Etale at the time of going to press.
Recently, Sifuna has been under pressure from several members of his party mainly for his outspoken criticism of the broad-based political arrangement, which he has repeatedly referred to as detrimental to the long-term political interests of ODM. His stand has since been subjected to serious discussions within ODM, with some members questioning his loyalty.
The Nairobi senator also previously alleged there were attempts to sell out or surrender ODM to President William Ruto’s political camp ahead of the 2022 General Election, comments that have unsettled some of the supporters of the party.
On this note, Kasmuel McOure, leader of the ODM Youth League, argued that Sifuna was unfit for the position of Secretary General. Given a public mission statement on social media, Kasmuel argued that were Sifuna to exit, it would hardly affect the party, calling for the latter to focus on addressing issues affecting Nairobi residents instead of attacking fellow part members.
Meanwhile, Sifuna has been clashing with other ODM heavyweights. Speaking in Murang’a on January 3, he accused senior leaders including Junet Mohamed of benefitting from former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s support but failing to strengthen ODM grassroots structures during the 2022 elections. He further claimed that misappropriation of resources intended for the campaigns worsened the fate of the ODM.
Junet Mohamed dismissed these allegations, claiming that Sifuna had been secretly collaborating with Uhuru Kenyatta inside ODM while calling for accountability concerning the failure to deploy and pay election agents.
“Money that was meant for agents was given to Muhoho Kenyatta, who Is Uhuru Kenyatta’s close relative,” Junet stated.
About Author
