From Baba to Sifuna: How Sifuna defines Nairobi politics

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Babu Owino alongside othe Linda Mwananchi leaders during their tour in Nairobi.[Standard]

For Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Sunday’s show of political strength carried significance beyond the Linda Mwananchi rally. It placed him at the centre of a political tradition shaped for decades by his former party leader, Raila Odinga, whose relationship with the capital was built through elections, opposition politics and some of the country’s defining political confrontations.

From the struggle for multi-party democracy in the early 1990s to the opposition demonstrations of 2023, Nairobi repeatedly provided Raila with a platform from which to challenge successive governments and rally supporters.

The strongest expression of that relationship was Kibera, in the former Lang’ata constituency that Raila represented after winning the seat in 1992. Kibera, later renamed Kibra, became one of his most dependable political bases and was frequently described by supporters as his “bedroom”.

The electoral numbers underline the depth of that support. In the 2022 General Election, Raila defeated William Ruto in Nairobi by 767,395 votes to 561,775. His Orange Democratic Movement won eight of the city’s 17 parliamentary seats and also captured the Senate and Woman Representative positions.

Raila’s connection with Nairobi, however, went beyond elections. During the struggle for the return of multi-party democracy, he was among activists arrested after authorities moved to stop a pro-democracy gathering at Kamukunji Grounds in July 1990.

The confrontation surrounding the July 7 Saba Saba rally became one of the defining moments in Kenya’s political history and helped establish Kamukunji as a major political space.

The capital later became a key arena during the disputed 2007 presidential election, with Kibera, Mathare and other informal settlements experiencing protests, clashes and heavy security operations.

The pattern resurfaced in 2016, when Raila and other opposition leaders led demonstrations demanding changes to the electoral commission ahead of the 2017 elections.

On November 17, 2017, his return from abroad drew large crowds around JKIA and along routes into the city. Two months later, on January 30, 2018, he took a symbolic oath as the “people’s president” at Uhuru Park before thousands of supporters.

In 2023, Raila again made Nairobi a focal point of his confrontation with the Ruto administration, with demonstrations reported in Kawangware, Kibera and other opposition strongholds.

Even after his death in India on October 15, 2025, the connection endured. When his remains arrived at JKIA the following day, thousands of mourners and supporters lined the route. The crowds disrupted the original arrangements for the procession, forcing authorities to divert the motorcade through Outering Road to Kasarani. Public viewing was later held at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Sifuna, a former ODM secretary-general and the city’s senator since 2022, has built his political career within the structures associated with Raila. His public profile has also been shaped by a style of politics that combines combative speeches, social media visibility and direct engagement with issues affecting Nairobi residents.

Sunday’s Linda Mwananchi procession offered him an opportunity to step beyond the institutional platform of the Senate and test that appeal directly among voters.

The comparisons with Raila were already evident at Jacaranda Grounds. Senators Boni Khalwale and Godfrey Osostsi described Sifuna as a replica of the former opposition chief, while other speakers portrayed him as a politician capable of carrying the movement into a new generation.

Sifuna himself used the rally to make his presidential ambitions explicit, telling supporters that his service as Nairobi senator had given him national visibility.

The rally also demonstrated the political value of his Nairobi position, with his campaign combined a city-wide procession tapping into issues directly associated with the capital, including informal settlements, devolution, county funding and the cost of living.