Sifuna’s team is welcome in Mombasa, says Nassir

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ODM deputy party leader Abdulswamad Nassir has welcomed plans by the Linda Mwananchi group to visit Mombasa County, while urging them to conduct the visit peacefully.

Nassir said the group, led by Edwin Sifuna, should avoid actions that could disrupt meetings or create unrest, stressing that Mombasa is largely a peaceful county.

“Everyone is welcome. I am only asking them to conduct their activities in a way that maintains peace in Mombasa,” he said during a bursary issuance event at St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School, Changamwe, organised by area MP Omar Mwinyi.

The deputy party leader also denied reports of divisions in ODM, saying those not aligned with the party leadership are not officially party members.

The Linda Mwananchi group plans to visit the county at the end of the holy month of Ramadhan. Some members have indicated they will coordinate their own security arrangements.

Tobias Samba, a leading part of the Sifuna-aligned group, said the visit would be lawful and that they would provide security in line with legal guidelines.

Nassir reiterated that the group is welcome to speak in Mombasa and leave without incident.

He added that any discussions with the UDA party regarding political matters will be coordinated after ODM’s National Delegates Conference later this month.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

There is a split in the orange party with two factions emerging but both insisting they are doing what departed party leader Raila Odinga instructed. The Linda Ground faction, led by party leader Oburu Odinga, maintains they are in the broad-based arrangement possibly until 2032 and will support President William Ruto’s re-election bid in 2027. The Linda Mwananchi faction, led by Sifuna, says Baba did not talk about supporting Ruto in 2027.