Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna is set for what could be the defining moment of his political career this weekend as the Linda Mwananchi movement stages two major rallies in Western Kenya.
The Sifuna-led movement will be holding "mother-of-all rallies" in Trans-Nzoia and Bungoma counties on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Sifuna, though elected in Nairobi, hails from Bungoma county.
The former ODM secretary general is widely expected to formally sever ties with the Orange Democratic Movement and announce his 2027 political vehicle.
The movement has lined up back-to-back rallies in the two counties, gatherings that insiders describe as the official political divorce between Sifuna and ODM following months of escalating differences with the party leadership.
Sifuna's allies have billed the weekend rallies as a defining moment for both the senator and the Linda Mwananchi movement.
Bomachoge Borabu MP Obadiah Barongo said the weekend’s twin Western offensive will permanently define the movement’s 2027 direction.
“The most defining Linda Mwananchi rally since we began. This weekend, Trans-Nzoia and Bungoma we are on the way,” Barongo said.
Vihiga Senator Godffrey Osotsi, without giving any details, hinted of a ‘big’ declaration over the weekend.
“Western is ripe for a declaration,” Osotsi said.
The meetings are expected to culminate in the unveiling of Linda Mwananchi's new political outfit, providing the movement with its own vehicle ahead of the 2027 General Election after operating for months as a movement within ODM.
Sifuna is also expected to formally declare his candidature for the presidency, a move that would thrust him into the growing list of opposition leaders seeking to challenge President William Ruto in 2027.
The anticipated announcement follows a strong hint by Sifuna during the Linda Mwananchi rally in Taita Taveta on Saturday, where he told supporters that Kenya needed a new generation of leadership and indicated that he was ready to answer the country's call.
On Saturday, Sifuna dropped a major hint at a 2027 presidential bid during a rally in Taita Taveta county.
Addressing a crowd at Mwatate, Sifuna expressed his readiness to take on a ‘bigger’ role that the youths of the country want to give him.
“The Gen Zs have told me it is time to stop calling me SG. They want to give me a new title, HE (His Excellency),” Sifuna said.
His Excellency is an honorific title used before or in reference to certain high-ranking office holders, most commonly the President.
Sifuna's anticipated presidential candidature has already sparked excitement in his Western Kenya backyard, with a number of influential political figures from the region reportedly throwing their weight behind his bid.
He stands to be confronted with the unity question, even so, especially amid calls by the likes of Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang'ula that it would be hard to dislodge Ruto.
"It is true we want the presidency but don't we have the best chance in 2032?" asked Mudavadi during his weekend engagements in the region.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and his predecessor Cleophas Malala are among the bigwigs outside Linda Mwananchi now backing Sifuna’s State House bid.
“I want to meet Mudavadi, Wetang'ula, Savula and all other leaders from the Western region and plead with them to stop dividing our people. I want us to unite and support Edwin Sifuna. God has already decided that it is him,” Khalwale said.
“On the affairs of our community, I will do anything to see to it that we are not divided. I will stand behind our son, Senator Edwin Sifuna,” Malala said.
“We can no longer afford to be divided.”
They argue that a strong showing in Western will not only validate Sifuna's presidential ambitions but also ensure the region gets the top seat after decades of false attempts.
The choice of Trans Nzoia and Bungoma is seen as strategic, with Western Kenya remaining one of the country's most influential voting blocs.
A strong turnout would bolster Sifuna's claim that Linda Mwananchi is evolving into a national political force rather than remaining a Nairobi-based movement.
Since its formation, Linda Mwananchi has embarked on an aggressive countrywide mobilisation campaign, holding rallies in several counties as it seeks to establish grassroots structures.
The movement first announced itself through a high-profile gathering in Nairobi before taking its campaigns to Machakos and Makueni in the Eastern region.
It later extended its outreach to Busia, Kisumu, Kisii, and Nyamira before heading to the Coast, where supporters were addressed in Mombasa, Kwale and, most recently, Taita Taveta.
At every stop, Sifuna has criticised the Kenya Kwanza administration over the cost of living, governance and economic management while insisting that the opposition requires a fresh political direction.
He has also consistently accused ODM's current leadership of abandoning the ideals upon which the party was founded, arguments that have widened the rift between his camp and the camp led by Siaya senator Oburu Oginga.
The unveiling of a new political outfit is expected to provide Linda Mwananchi with an official platform to recruit members, field candidates and establish national structures ahead of the next General Election.
