Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale /HANDOUT
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale says social media is exaggerating the political wrangles surrounding the Linda Mwananchi movement and should not be allowed to derail efforts to build a broad opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 election. In an interview with the Star, Khalwale discusses Edwin Sifuna’s presidential ambitions, Babu Owino’s fallout with his colleagues, the search for a coalition vehicle, the emergence of the Ukombozi Party and Luhya unity. Here are excerpts:
You have followed the alleged fallout between Edwin Sifuna and Babu Owino closely. Do you think their differences could hurt Linda Mwananchi?
I think Babu is either overreacting on social media or he has panicked because the import of that social media discourse is that his ambition is under threat.
Whether this will affect the people who have embraced Linda Mwananchi, only time can tell. But if we are allowed to overthink it, my view is that it cannot.
Sifuna did not look for the movement. The movement is owned mainly by the younger generation of voters. They created the vibe and force around it and identified a leader.
Put crudely, the Gen Z who initially told us they were leaderless and partyless have found a leader in Sifuna and a party in Linda Mwananchi, which was created by Sifuna, Babu, [Siaya Governor James] Orengo and other MPs. I was not among those who founded Linda Mwananchi, so I do not want to take undue credit. That is simply my intelligent perception. I could be wrong.
What do you think Babu needs to do going forward?
Babu can only win Nairobi if he remains a member of Linda Mwananchi. If he attempts an experiment outside Linda Mwananchi, his campaign becomes harder, and the possibility of losing becomes more probable.
My advice to him is that you do not always have to agree with everybody and everything. In politics, there is nothing like the right opinion. There is your opinion and the opinion of other people. If you are lucky, the two resonate.
Many times, you have to juggle when your opinion is different from that of your colleague with whom you are in the same party or coalition. He has to cultivate a way of dealing with his emotions and ego.
How will you bring the various parties associated with the opposition together under one umbrella?
The existence of a party is not based on what a leader says. The parties that exist today are officially recognised by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties. So, what Babu says or what Orengo says about a party is neither here nor there.
The important question is whether a party is registered. My view is that the existence of one, two or more parties allegedly associated with Linda Mwananchi leaders is not a threat. In fact, it is a good thing.
The reason Linda Mwananchi has made headway is because the hovernment has panicked that if it is allowed to formalise, it presents a real threat to its electoral ambitions. That is why you see the drama at the ORPP.
The cure is the existence of these parties because they can eventually form a coalition that faces President William Ruto.
For your information, Ruto is also working with a collection of parties — UDA, ODM, UDM, Ford Kenya and others. Just like our side, they also have many parties.
Eventually, because the constitution allows it, they will form a coalition. Similarly, the parties on our side can form a coalition. Those two coalitions will face each other. What is unknown are the names of those coalitions.
So, is it already agreed that Linda Mwananchi will become the coalition and every leader will retain his own party?
No. We have not held a meeting to deliberate on that. I am only walking through the possible path that is constitutionally and legally available to us.
The same path is available to our competitors. You cannot operate outside the law. At the end of the day, that is the route Ruto and his allies will have to take, and it is also the route Sifuna and his supporters can take.
Does Sifuna have a political party?
No. Sifuna has not registered a political party, and I think that is a good thing. It means he could be the most acceptable coalition flagbearer.
Look at coalitions. When you go into the coalition that will be formed by Ruto, the people running on UDA will have a head start because they are running on the party of the party leader who is also the flagbearer.
We saw the same thing in Azimio. Raila was the party leader of ODM and the coalition’s flagbearer. That gave ODM an advantage in terms of the number of seats it won.
Similarly, if we form a coalition called Linda Mwananchi and Sifuna does not have a party, he could be an ideal flagbearer because none of the constituent parties would have an advantage over the others.
But if Sifuna becomes the presidential candidate without a party, how will he govern if he wins?
I see no contradiction. All Sifuna would be looking for is to benefit from votes in areas commanded by the respective political parties. If he becomes president, he will govern using MPs from the constituent parties of the coalition that he leads.
If Sifuna asked to run on your party, would you accept?
Let us cross that bridge when we get there.
I have come to support Sifuna wholeheartedly. That includes sealing any gaps that exist in his journey towards realising his aspirations. I would therefore be happy to be one of the people who seals any loophole in his journey.
Is Sifuna finally the man who can bring the Western region under one umbrella?
Who told you that any community in Kenya ever votes 100 per cent one way? Even in 2002, when Mwai Kibaki became president, a significant portion of his community voted against him. In 2022, when Raila was supported by various forces, only a fraction of the Luhya community voted for him. This stereotype and profiling of the Luhya community should go away. When Sifuna announces that he is running for president, we expect him to start with a block of Luhya votes. But it can never be 100 per cent. If five, 10 or 20 per cent of Luhyas do not vote for him, it will not mean the Luhya community has rejected Sifuna. It will simply mean that, in a democracy, you can never get 100 per cent support.
