Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo/ FILESuba North MP Millie Odhiambo has claimed there was a push to remove Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), saying she opposed the move.
Speaking on the She Means Business show on Citizen TV, Odhiambo said she believed Sifuna should have been allowed to remain in ODM and make his own decision about his political future.
“There was this push to throw out Sifuna from the party, and I was against it. And I thank my mighty God that I've been proven right,” Odhiambo stated.
Odhiambo stated that she had been told that Sifuna was a temporary political phenomenon, but argued that his continued political activity showed he had remained politically relevant.
“Because I was told Sifuna is a passing cloud. The cloud has been here forever now. I mean, he's not passing,” she said.
She also claimed that Sifuna's political activities were causing concern within ODM.
“And he's causing a bit of jitters on our side of the broadcast. Because if he wasn't causing jitters, we wouldn't be addressing him,” she said.
"Can you imagine if Sifuna had stayed in our party? What would be the biggest challenger? Really, we create unnecessary wars, and for me, I thought there was no reason to chase Sifuna out of the party. We should have let him stay, and if he got tired or he thought the party wouldn't enable his agenda to sail within Nairobi, he would have left. He's in on time. But not with us pushing him out."
The remarks come amid Sifuna's fallout with ODM and his political activities under the Linda Mwananchi banner.
Odhiambo's comments also come against the backdrop of Sifuna's removal as ODM Secretary-General and subsequent loss of his Senate leadership position, as well as his stated intention to leave the party and pursue a new political vehicle ahead of the 2027 elections.
Odhiambo has previously commented on Sifuna's position within the party.
“Us mistreating Sifuna is what has made Sifuna a hero. So let us be careful the way we are dealing with our issues,” she said in April.
In August, Odhiambo also spoke about Sifuna's political profile.
“I think we just upped the game for Sifuna and put him in the same league with the sitting president,” she said, while arguing that his main threat to ODM could be at parliamentary level rather than in the presidential contest.
In her latest remarks, Odhiambo reiterated her view that Sifuna should have been allowed to stay in ODM.
She said that if Sifuna eventually felt the party could no longer support his political ambitions, he could have chosen to leave on his own.
