Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during the unveiling of his The Equitable Party on October 4, 2026 / ENOS TECHENairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has called on Kenyans to take a more active role in shaping the country’s political leadership and policies, saying citizens should no longer remain passive spectators in politics.
Sifuna said political leadership must be centred on the needs and aspirations of ordinary citizens, rather than speeches and election promises.
Sifuna said the new party would seek to build politics around ideas, programmes, accountability and service.
He added that the party would explain its policies to Kenyans and account for its actions, including acknowledging and correcting mistakes.
“The people must not remain an audience to politics. They must become its authors. This party will therefore seek to build politics around ideas, programmes, accountability, and service. We will listen before we speak. We will consult before we decide,” he said.
He spoke on Sunday during the launch of the Equitable Party, where he was unveiled as the leader of the party and the political movement behind it.
“And where we make mistakes, we will have the courage to acknowledge them and correct them. The era of the one-man-expert-in-everything must end!” Sifuna said.
Sifuna said the movement would promote equal opportunities for Kenyans and ensure that young people have a meaningful role in determining the country’s policies and leadership.
“We believe that young Kenyans must not merely be invited to political rallies. They must have a meaningful voice in shaping the policies and leadership of this country,” he said.
He also called for greater participation of women in leadership and said every region and community deserved dignity, representation and equal consideration in the country’s development.
Sifuna said political competition should not undermine national unity, arguing that Kenyans could disagree over policies while remaining fellow citizens.
The senator said the new political movement was being built on constitutionalism, the rule of law and fidelity to Kenya’s national values.
He said the Equitable Party would provide a platform for citizens who believe the country could be governed differently.
“The Equitable Party opens its doors today to all those who believe that it is possible to govern in accordance with the Constitution and the Law,” he said.
Sifuna said the party was being adopted as the political vehicle through which the movement would seek the people’s mandate in the 2027 General Election.
He said the movement planned to seek the rebranding of the party to the Linda Mwananchi Movement, although the party would retain its current name if the process faced further obstacles.
Sifuna also outlined some of the economic proposals being developed by a team of experts working with the movement.
He said the team had identified government wastage and what it describes as “budgeted corruption” that could be eliminated to create room for tax relief.
Among the proposals he mentioned were the removal of the Housing Levy and VAT on fuel and electricity.
He said the experts were also working on a plan they believe could enable Kenya to achieve a balanced budget within 15 months while reducing government borrowing and increasing credit available to the private sector.
Sifuna said the proposals would be presented through a line-by-line analysis of the national budget.
He said the ultimate objective was to make government more responsive to citizens’ needs, including the cost of food, employment, public services and the cost of doing business.
“This movement begins with a simple proposition: government must work for the mwananchi, not merely in speeches, but in the cost of food, the availability of work, the quality of public services and the dignity with which every person is treated,” Sifuna said.
He called on Kenyans who share the movement’s vision to join the new political outfit and help build it ahead of the 2027 elections.
