Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna speaking in the Senate on September 30, 2026. /SCREENGRABLinda Mwananchi leader Edwin Sifuna says his life has changed dramatically over the past year as he prepares to make a bid for the presidency in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, the Nairobi senator said his political journey had experienced both highs and lows over the past 12 months but maintained that his march to State House remained on course.
Sifuna made the remarks at the start of his contribution during consideration of the nomination of Fatuma Ibrahim Ali as the female non-Member of Parliament commissioner to the Parliamentary Service Commission.
He said if Fatuma had visited Nairobi a year ago, he would have taken personal responsibility for showing her around the city.
“But my life has changed dramatically in the last 12 months; my movement is extremely restricted, I'm under 24-hour surveillance, many people in many of the spots that I used to visit have not seen me in over 12 months,” he said.
Sifuna said he expected that situation to change after the next General Election, promising to welcome Fatuma back to Nairobi within 11 months.
“But I want to give this assurance that in the next 11 months, I will be welcoming you back to Nairobi and I want to give that assurance that just as it is possible for people to move from government to opposition, it is also possible that a former SG of an opposition party will move to government in the next 11 months,” he said.
Sifuna served as secretary general of the Orange Democratic Movement before his fallout with sections of the party over his opposition to the broad-based government arrangement.
He said the incoming government that the current opposition would form would honour its commitments to Kenyans, including the assurance he had just given.
“So, I want to give that assurance...We intend to keep every promise to the people of Kenya, including the promise that I have just made,” he said.
Sifuna's political profile has grown over the past year following his fallout with ODM's leadership and his removal from House leadership positions after declining to support the broad-based government arrangement.
His political ambitions have also gained renewed attention as he positions himself for the 2027 presidential contest.
On Wednesday, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal set aside the Registrar of Political Parties' decision declining to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi Movement and directed the Registrar to reserve the name within seven days.
The Tribunal found that the Registrar's decision lacked legal justification.
It also held that Liberty National Democratic Alliance, commonly known as LINDA, was not a fully registered political party and therefore lacked legal capacity to participate in the proceedings in its own name.
“The decision by the Registrar declining to reserve the name Linda Mwananchi is hereby set aside,” the Tribunal ruled.
The decision removes a legal hurdle for Sifuna's political vehicle as he and his allies prepare for the next phase of their political plans ahead of the 2027 elections.
