Senator Edwin Sifuna Rejects Calls to Resign, Cites By-Election Cost Ahead of 2027 Polls

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has refused pressure to vacate his Senate seat, saying that stepping down ten months before the 2027 General Election would place an unnecessary financial burden on taxpayers.

He addressed journalists from his Nairobi office on Friday, October 9, 2026, and defended his decision to remain in office despite charting a new political course outside the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Sifuna pointed to President William Ruto’s own party switch, asking “Ask William Ruto. When did William Ruto resign to join UDA?” to illustrate what he described as a double standard.

The senator recently unveiled The Equitable Party (TEP) as his vehicle for the 2027 General Election, indicating his intention to contest the presidency while still describing himself as a card-carrying ODM member elected on that party’s ticket.

He characterised his Senate term as a five-year contract with Nairobi residents that he intends to honour, adding that he will formally exit ODM closer to the General Election because the party is now “in the hands of William Ruto.”

Sifuna warned that if all legislators who have decided not to seek re-election on ODM tickets resigned, the country would face a “mini general election” funded by the public.

He accused critics of applying selective scrutiny, noting that politicians who left the United Democratic Alliance for other parties had not been asked to resign, and said “It is hypocrisy that that question is only asked to Sifuna. I’ve not heard any other person being asked that question.”

His remarks arrive as Kenya’s political landscape shifts ahead of the 2027 contest, with the Linda Mwananchi faction of ODM rebels, of which he is a leading figure, opposing support for President Ruto’s re-election bid.