NAIROBI,Kenya July 17 – Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has declared that he does not need powerful political positions to serve Kenyans, saying recent leadership shake-ups within the opposition have only strengthened his resolve to remain outspoken.

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Speaking during the Linda Mwananchi tour in Mwatate Town, Taita Taveta County, on Saturday, Sifuna said losing positions previously entrusted to him by the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga had not taken away his ability to think, lead or champion the interests of ordinary Kenyans.

“All the senior positions that Baba entrusted me with have been taken away. But let me ask them: Do I still have my ears? Do I still have my head? Do I still have my legs? Have they taken away my mind?” Sifuna told cheering supporters.

The senator also made light of his changing political fortunes, saying young supporters had encouraged him to stop referring to himself as the ODM Secretary-General because they had a bigger office in mind for him.

📌 What You Need to Know

“The youth have told me to stop calling myself the Secretary-General; they want to give me another title called ‘His Excellency,'” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Sifuna’s remarks come days after he was removed as Senate Deputy Minority Whip in a controversial leadership reshuffle announced by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi. Migori Senator Eddy Oketch was named as his replacement.

The changes sparked an uproar within the opposition, with the Kalonzo Musyoka-led Azimio coalition rejecting the process that led to Sifuna’s removal and accusing a section of ODM senators of orchestrating the changes through an irregular Parliamentary Group meeting.

In a letter addressed to Speaker Kingi, the coalition argued that the meeting was convened on short notice without a clear agenda and failed to meet the party’s constitutional threshold for altering Senate leadership. It maintained that only 11 senators supported the purported changes and insisted that disputes relating to coalition leadership must first be handled by the Coalition Council under the coalition agreement.

Azimio also claimed the reshuffle was influenced by consultations held at State House between President William Ruto and a section of ODM leaders before the Parliamentary Group meeting, an allegation that has further fuelled tensions within the opposition.

The Linda Mwananchi faction, which has been critical of the broad-based cooperation between President Ruto and sections of the ODM leadership, has maintained that Sifuna’s removal was politically motivated and intended to silence one of the government’s fiercest critics.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya