Migori Senator Eddy Oketch has come out to explain why Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s recent meeting with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Murang’a during a funeral service prompted him to initiate an ouster motion for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General from the helm of the party.

While speaking during an interview at a local TV station on Wednesday, January 7, 2025, a day after withdrawing the motion to give room for dialogue and party structures to resolve the matter, Oketch stated that Sifuna’s presence in Murang’a during the funeral of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya’s mother in company of Gachagua prompted him to begin plans to initiate an ouster motion against the outspoken senator, who is currently facing possible removal from the helm of the ODM party he has led for nearly a decade.

He stated that during the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua, when Sifuna was the Deputy Minority Whip, he whipped the members of the minority side to impeach the then deputy president, accusing him of several issues, only for the same Deputy Minority Whip to be spotted with the person he had whipped his members to impeach.

“As a deputy whip in the senate, he came to me personally, and whipped all of us. He personally convinced me and stated that it is not a party position but a moral position that he holds dear to impeach Gachagua on various grounds. Then the next day, you see him in a dalliance with Rigathi Gachagua in a public place.”

He also accused Sifuna of insulting members of the Orange party by calling them derogatory names.

Calls for Sifuna’s removal

Calls for Sifuna’s ouster from the party have been mounting in recent days, with the Central Management Committee (CMC) set to convene during the week to deliberate on his removal.

The self-proclaimed ODM Youth Wing leader, Kasmuel McOure, recently called for his removal, spelling doom for Edwin Sifuna, stating that his days in the Orange party are numbered and that his ouster from the party would not be as significant as many of his supporters might think.

Edwin Sifuna’s recent political steps appear to be directed towards the opposition.

His presence at the funeral of Gakuya’s mother in Murang’a spoke volumes; during the funeral, he was not heavily critical of Gachagua as he had been in the past. They even exchanged greetings and spoke with each other. During his speech, he acknowledged Gachagua, stating that nobody can choose for him the friends he should mingle with.

This comes days after a similar approach by the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), where Rigathi Gachagua who opened doors for him to join his party or the United Opposition, should he be chased from the ODM party.