Edwin Sifuna speaks on whether he will run for President in 2027

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has said he would not turn down a presidential bid in the 2027 General Election if the decision is collectively made by the people. 

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV's The Explainer show on Tuesday night, Sifuna said discussions about his political future have increasingly come from young Kenyans who believe he is capable of taking on greater leadership responsibilities.

He recounted a recent meeting in Taita Taveta where supporters encouraged him to consider aiming higher after he was recently stripped of his roles as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General and Senate Deputy Minority Whip.

"We go into this meeting in Taita Taveta, and these young people - on the back of all this information about everything that has been taken away - tell me; 'You need not worry. All these positions, some of them were given by Raila, but most of them were given by the public, and we are saying there is something better we feel would suit you.' I'm sure it would roll off your tongue if you just say 'H.E.' Si mbaya," Sifuna said.

"If the decision is made, we have a lot of work to do in order to have a viable candidature and campaign, but I'm not one to run away from responsibility. We have to answer the call of our country and generation and if the people feel that this is the best way for us to proceed, we will not say No."

Asked directly whether he is interested in running for President in 2027, the vocal lawmaker said the decision does not rest with him alone but with his fellow members of the Linda Mwananchi movement as well as the general public at large.

"Because I'm part of the Linda Mwananchi team, the decisions made in Linda Mwananchi are very collegiate and I wouldn't just be able to do it if I was alone," he said.

"I've gotten to this position because of the support from young people, those online, Bunge la Mwananchi, TikTokers. That is a decision we need to make together with the people."

He cautioned against centering the movement around his personality, saying its objectives are bigger than any individual.

"I've tried to plead with people not to make this thing just about Sifuna; it could be any one of us," he said.

Sifuna added that the Linda Mwananchi movement intends to field candidates for various elective positions in the 2027 elections and is currently working on building the structures needed to support them.

"All the positions that are available for elections in 2027, we have a host of candidates. Our responsibility is to get structured and organised so that everyone can know how to plug in because, as it is right now, Linda Mwananchi is still a movement of the people," he stated.

The Senator also addressed his increasingly strained relationship with ODM, claiming that party leadership has effectively sidelined him and other like-minded members after the death of founding party leader Raila Odinga.

"It is clear that those in the ODM leadership are done with us. Even as we speak, there's a motion brought to the Senate today to effect further changes, to remove Senator (Godfrey) Osotsi from the County Public Investments Committee and remove me from the County Public Accounts Committee to Fisheries, which they think is a punishment, but I need to learn about agriculture and the blue economy," he stated. 

"On Saturday, when we finished our rally in Kitale, I just saw all of us removed from the ODM WhatsApp group."

He noted that the Linda Mwananchi movement has a duty to campaign across the country to fetch enough support worthy of entering the presidential race.