Embakasi East lawmaker Babu Owino has come out to reveal their current focus before sitting down to decide whether their team will field a presidential candidate.

While speaking during an interview with a local radio station on Sunday, February 22, 2025, the Nairobi gubernatorial hopeful stated that the current focus of the movement, which is slowly gaining traction, is to fight for Kenyans and address the issues affecting them before any presidential considerations come into play.

He argued that movements like theirs take time to gain shape and move forward gradually. He added that they have not yet sat down to plan how they will proceed but now want to push the government to deliver for the people of Kenya.

“Know, movements will always gain lives of their own. They shape up, things take shape, and they move. As of now, we’ve not sat down to decide on how we want to move, but right now, we’ve said we want to fight for this one common mwananchi so that the government can give them the best.”

“We want to push the government to the corner so that jobs can be created, roads can be constructed, and factories can be revived. So that the high cost of living can be reduced, so that overtaxation can be a thing of the past, and that is when we will sit down to reassess.”

He continued to state that after these goals have been achieved, they will sit down to reassess who among themselves is best suited for the top job. He expressed confidence in himself, saying that he is overqualified to be president, let alone to hold the gubernatorial seat he is seeking.

Linda mwanachi team

This comes at a time when the Linda Mwananchi team, which is comprised of rebel leaders within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party who oppose the direction the party is taking in preparation for 2027, is gaining momentum.

This faction opposes the Linda Grounda movement led by Oburu Odinga, which supports President William Ruto’s re-election and a potential merger between UDA and ODM.

The Linda Mwananchi team includes Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Siaya Governor James Orengo, Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, and several MPs. This group has been holding rallies in different areas, beginning with their maiden rally in Busia, then Kitengela, where they encountered chaos, followed by Kakamega and Vihiga counties.

What’s next for Linda Mwanchi?

Edwin Sifuna, who is the face of this team, came out wholeheartedly after he was initially chased out of the Secretary General position but later reinstated by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT).

To voice his dissatisfaction with the direction the Orange Party is taking ahead of 2027

Recently, he announced that the Linda Mwanachi team will be taking a brief hiatus, saying that their Muslim supporters have urged them to pause activities and wait until the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

He added that they will resume their movement activities afterwards, with the maiden rally following the break set to take place in Mombasa before proceeding to other regions.