Suba South MP Caroli Omondi has affirmed that Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna will be the presidential flagbearer of the Linda Mwananchi Movement during talks with other Opposition parties for a joint candidate in the 2027 General Election.
Omondi, who is the movement’s spokesperson, said Linda Mwananchi would first nominate Sifuna as its presidential candidate before engaging other Opposition formations on the possibility of forming a grand coalition to challenge President William Ruto.
Speaking during an interview with Spice FM, Omondi said the movement was clear about its preferred candidate.
“We need to be very clear on this, we will have our party as Linda Mwananchi and we will nominate Edwin Sifuna as our flagbearer,” Omondi said.
He said the movement would then open negotiations with other Opposition parties and leaders to agree on a single presidential candidate capable of mounting a strong challenge against Ruto.
Among those seeking to lead the Opposition into the 2027 contest are former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Jubilee deputy party leader Fred Matiang’i.
Omondi said Linda Mwananchi would approach the negotiations as a political formation with its own candidate, rather than enter talks without a clear position on who it wants to front.
He said Siaya Governor James Orengo, who is the movement’s leader, and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino would be part of the team tasked with engaging other Opposition parties.
“With Siaya Governor James Orengo as our leader and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, we will lead, together with a team we will put together, to negotiate with other Opposition parties to put together a grand coalition,” he said.
Omondi said the strategy was modelled on the 2002 General Election, when Opposition parties united behind one candidate to end the long rule of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) and then-President Daniel arap Moi.
“We want to move the way it happened in 2002 elections,” he said.
In 2002, major Opposition forces overcame their differences and formed the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), bringing together Mwai Kibaki’s National Alliance of Kenya and Raila Odinga’s Liberal Democratic Party, among other political forces.
The parties agreed to back Kibaki as their presidential candidate, avoiding the fragmentation that had characterised the 1992 and 1997 elections when several Opposition candidates split the anti-KANU vote.
The NARC strategy resulted in a decisive victory for Kibaki, who defeated Moi’s preferred successor Uhuru Kenyatta.
Omondi’s remarks come as internal efforts to consolidate Linda Mwananchi’s leadership continue to take shape, with Orengo on Sunday pledging to hold talks with Sifuna over their competing presidential ambitions.
Speaking during the Linda Mwananchi tour in Nairobi, Orengo said he would sit down with Sifuna to resolve the question of who should lead the movement into the 2027 presidential contest.
