Siaya Governor James Orengo dismissed claims that the Linda Mwananchi movement has split. He said the movement’s leadership stays united and remains focused on working together.
Speaking on Sunday at St Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral in Kisumu, Orengo said reports of divisions within the movement are false. He added that the leadership continues to operate as one team.
Orengo said he invited Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna to the church service to demonstrate unity. He noted that one group of Linda Mwananchi leaders attended an event in Nyahururu, but he wanted Sifuna to join him in Kisumu.
“I invited my colleague, Comrade Edwin Sifuna. The big team in Linda Mwananchi is in Nyahururu, but I wanted Sifuna to come here because there are a lot of people, including yesterday, talking about divisions in Linda Mwananchi. Sifuna’s presence here today is to put you to shame. We are together, we are walking together, and we shall never be divided,” Orengo said.
Sifuna supported Orengo’s message and called on movement members to stay united. He urged them to resist efforts to drive a wedge among leaders.
“We must all remain united. Hata wakijaribu kuleta vitina gani, hatuachani,” Sifuna said.
At the same time, Sifuna signaled that he may step down from his role as secretary general of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
He spoke publicly for the first time since the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) approved his removal. During the remarks, he appeared ready to move on from the post. Sifuna thanked residents of Kisumu for their support throughout his time at the party.
He said, “I want to thank the people of Kisumu for all the support, and standing by me all this time when I have been the secretary general of ODM.”
Sifuna also drew on the day’s sermon to frame his response to the decision. He told the congregation that the bishop preached that whatever people lose would eventually return. He used that message to explain his exit from the SG position, which he said ODM party leader Raila Odinga had entrusted to him before his death.
The senator likened his situation to what can happen in a household after a father passes on. He said, “As usual, when a father dies in a home, outsiders come to take away things from the children,” adding that forces outside the circle of the party’s founding leadership likely drove his removal.
Despite the setback, Sifuna linked his optimism to the sermon and said he still expects to advance politically.
He told the congregation that the bishop taught that God would restore anything people lose. He added that he believed everything Raila Odinga and the Kenyan public gave him would eventually come back.
Sifuna also used the moment to call for unity within ODM and across the broader political alliance in Western Kenya and Nyanza. He warned members not to let the internal party dispute create new divisions.
He insisted that leadership tensions inside ODM would not split Kenyans in the Western and Nyanza regions.
“No one should lie to you because of all that has happened in the party, then Western Kenya has problems with Nyanza. Just because of the problems in the party we should not fight amongst ourselves,” he said.
He urged party members to stay calm, saying that even though turmoil continued at the top level, ordinary supporters and allied communities should not turn on one another.
