Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna has fiercely dismissed allegations linking former President Uhuru Kenyatta to the financing of the Linda Mwananchi grassroots movement, terming the claims politically motivated and lacking any factual basis.

Speaking during a morning interview on a local radio station on Thursday, April 30, 2026, Sifuna took direct aim at Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, challenging him to substantiate his assertion that he is aware of financial dealings involving ODM leaders and the former head of state.

Sifuna questioned the credibility of Murkomen’s remarks, suggesting he has intimate knowledge of opposition leaders’ movements and interactions.

“You heard Murkomen saying that we as politicians are under 24 hours’ surveillance, that Murkomen knows when I sleep and who I sleep with. So he surely must see me receiving money from Uhuru. Why can’t he show the country Uhuru Kenyatta and Edwin Sifuna exchanging money?” Sifuna posed.

Sifuna defends Uhuru

He further maintained that attempts to drag Uhuru Kenyatta’s name into the affairs of the Linda Mwananchi movement were meant to distract from pressing governance issues and discredit opposition voices.

The ODM secretary general insisted that no evidence exists to support claims of financial collusion between him and the former president, adding that such accusations should be backed by proof rather than speculation aired in public forums.

Sifuna has said that the Linda Mwananchi rallies are funded by the members of the faction and well-wishers, insisting that the funding involves logistics to the venue but not facilitating the mobilisation of attendees and insisting that their rallies are not mobilised.

ODM wrangles

His remarks come at a time when internal ODM succession politics have been gaining attention following Raila’s diminished active role in day-to-day party affairs. Sifuna has been at the forefront, leading the Linda Mwananchi faction that opposes the ODM party’s leadership’s affiliation to President Ruto’s re-election ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The senator’s remarks add a new layer of counterattack in the ongoing political debate surrounding the Linda Mwananchi initiative, which has recently become a subject of heated political discourse among rival camps.