NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 7 \u2013 Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, and Nairobi Senator, has paid tribute to the late Raila Odinga, urging Kenyans to uphold the principles and ideals championed by the iconic leader on what would have been his birthday.<\/p>\n
In a heartfelt statement, Sifuna reflected on nearly three months since Raila\u2019s passing, describing the nation\u2019s mourning as ongoing and profound.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cMany of us are no closer to overcoming this loss than we were two months ago. Indeed, your larger-than-life profile and the impact you had on us and the nation means we may never stop mourning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As Kenyans mark the late leader\u2019s birthday, Sifuna said Raila\u2019s students, political allies, and ideological mentees must continue his work by leading a political renaissance aligned with the preamble of the Constitution, celebrating diversity, equality, democracy, social justice, and the rule of law.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn his birthday, we renew our dedication to the principles he stood for, as we honour his memory and legacy by staying the course on this path he charted for us. Happy birthday Baba!\u201d Sifuna noted.<\/p>\n
The Nairobi Senator highlighted Raila\u2019s 80-year life as a testament to courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to freedom and justice.<\/p>\n
\u00a0He praised him as the country\u2019s foremost second liberation warrior, a champion of multiparty democracy, and a key architect of the 2010 Constitution, which established devolution and aimed to reduce government overreach while distributing national resources equitably.<\/p>\n
The ODM SG also expressed concern over what he described as a growing culture of impunity and intolerance in the wake of Raila\u2019s death urging political leaders and mentees of Raila to stand firm in their principles.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cHis death has created a platform for regression and shrinking of this space he envisaged, and more than ever, the country misses the wisdom and foresight of Baba,\u201d Sifuna said.<\/p>\n
Raila was remembered for consistently defending the oppressed, speaking truth to power, and placing the country above personal interest, often at great personal cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn moments when compromise was convenient, he chose principle. In moments when silence was safer, he chose resistance,\u201d Sifuna added.<\/p>\n
This comes as Sifuna dismisses growing calls for his removal as ODM Secretary General, insisting that no individual or faction has the authority to kick him out as internal divisions widen following the death of party leader Raila Odinga.<\/p>\n
Sifuna\u2019s defiant stance comes amid rising tensions within ODM, with a section of party leaders accusing him of undermining unity over his opposition to the broad-based government arrangement between President William Ruto and the late Raila.<\/p>\n
Critics argue that Sifuna\u2019s outspoken criticism of the deal has put him at odds with senior ODM figures who favour continued cooperation with the Kenya Kwanza administration.<\/p>\n
Dismissing what he termed intimidation attempts, Sifuna maintained that his critics lacked the mandate to discipline or expel him from the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do not scare me. I want to assure Gachagua that no one has the power to kick me out of the ODM party. You can relax,\u201d Sifuna said while attending the burial ceremony of the late Alice Wangari Gakuya, mother of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, at Makomboki Primary School in Kigumo, Murang\u2019a County.<\/p>\n
2022 campaign funds<\/strong><\/p>\n Addressing the controversy, Sifuna launched a blistering attack on his detractors, reviving debate over the management of campaign funds during the 2022 General Election and ODM\u2019s post-election direction.<\/p>\n \u201cThe funds that we in ODM used for our campaigns largely came from former President Uhuru Kenyatta. He supported us in every possible way,\u201d Sifuna said, accusing National Assembly Minority Leader and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed of mismanaging resources that could have bolstered Raila Odinga\u2019s presidential bid.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 7 \u2013 Orange Democratic Movement Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, and Nairobi Senator, has paid tribute to the late Raila Odinga, urging Kenyans to uphold the principles and ideals championed by the iconic leader on what would have been his birthday. In a heartfelt statement, Sifuna reflected on nearly three months since Raila\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}