- ODM’s Edwin Sifuna says the MoU with UDA is no longer valid
- He blames the Kenya Kwanza government for acting in bad faith
- Sifuna says the death of Albert Ojwang while in police custody is the breaking point
- He had warned ODM against trusting UDA from the start
- ODM has not officially exited the deal, but Sifuna’s remarks signal growing tensions
Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna has strongly declared that the political understanding between ODM and UDA is finished. He linked the end of the agreement to the recent death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang while in a police cell.
Sifuna, speaking on Citizen TV, stated that the tragedy demonstrated that the spirit of the agreement had no longer been in effect. According to him, there’s no point in discussing political progress when people like Ojwang are losing their lives.
“On the day Albert Ojwang dies in a police cell, to me this agreement is dead,” he stated. “Because it doesn’t matter what else you do, Albert will not be able to enjoy that.”
The ODM Secretary General revealed he was never comfortable with the handshake-style deal from the beginning. He warned party officials that UDA was not entering the MoU with honesty. He claimed the Kenya Kwanza team only wanted to create a show for public relations.
“They wanted a document they could run a P.R. campaign around and say we’re together,” he explained.
Sifuna explained that the main reason behind the MoU was to protect lives and ensure democracy. But while political calm may have returned, the deaths of citizens continue making the agreement meaningless in his view.
“The democratic state is being sustained, but our people are not getting there; they’re still being killed,” he said.
ODM has not released an official statement confirming they’ve left the agreement. However, Sifuna’s firm words have opened up doubts about whether the parties can continue working together. The future of bipartisan politics in Kenya now looks uncertain.
