Sifuna: Why our empowerments are different from Kindiki’s
By Mabonga Makhanu, August 31, 2025Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has distanced the Kenya Moja-led empowerment forums from those championed by government allies such as Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Speaking in Funyula on Sunday, August 31, 2025, Sifuna said their empowerment programme is completely different from the state-led initiatives. According to him, the Kenya Moja forums ensure that every beneficiary receives their cash or share of the empowerment drive instantly.
He accused the government-backed programmes of being scams where participants leave without receiving what they were promised.
“Na naomba vile vikundi ambavyo wamekuja hapa leo; sisi hatufanyi empowerment kama ile ukora ya empowerment ya kina Kindiki. Hii pesa mnatoka hapa nayo leo,” Sifuna told the gathering.
The event in Funyula was organised as part of an empowerment forum targeting youth groups. Kenya Moja MPs joined Funyula MP to raise funds in support of various youth initiatives across the constituency.
Majimbo Kalasinga’s claims
Speaking in his constituency on Sunday, July 13, 2025, during an empowerment forum led by Edwin Sifuna, Kalasinga issued a stern warning to the Kenya Kwanza MPs, urging them to stop misusing the programmes for self-enrichment.
He criticised the trend where women are invited to fundraising events, but after raising the money, the funds are neither distributed the same day nor the total amount raised during these events fully disclosed. He said the beneficiaries often wait for weeks, only to receive a fraction of what was raised.
“Nataka kupeana advise kwa empowerment program ambayo inaendelea Kenya yenya inaitwa women empowerment mistumie Wanamaker kama kikwazo cha kupata pesa; nyinyi wenyewe mnaenda mnaita wamama wanajaa kwa uwanja, mnafanya fundraising, mnaraise pesa nyingi, na hamwagawi pesa hiyo siku,“ majimbo said.
Loosely translated as
“I want to give some advice regarding the ongoing empowerment programme in Kenya known as Women Empowerment. Do not use women as a means to access money for yourselves. You call them to attend events, they fill the venue, and you conduct fundraisers where a lot of money is raised — but you don’t distribute that money on the same day.”