Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has finally reacted to criticism about his recent decision to miss President William Ruto’s tour in Nairobi.
Speaking during the burial of retired Kenya Air Force pilot James Gitahi, Sifuna noted that it was not his responsibility to attend the head of state’s development tours of the city.
The Senator who is ODM’s party Secretary General, noted that there was no part of the agreement signed between Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga demanding that he must attend the president’s meetings.
Senator Sifuna addresses accusations of skipping Raila, Ruto’s meetings in Nairobi. Photo: Courtesy.
“I woke up and saw a headline claiming that Sifuna evaded the president during his development tour in Nairobi. There is no part of the agreement that mandates the ODM Secretary General to attend Ruto’s rallies,” Sifuna clarified.
Sifuna went on to maintain that he would continue performing his duties as the Nairobi Senator, adding that his attendance at Ruto’s rallies would not be used as a prerequisite for his 2027 reelection.
He further emphasised his commitment to performing his oversight role to ensure that Ruto fulfilled all the demands issued in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between him and Raila.
“I heard Ruto saying that everyone should do their best; I will not be reelected based on the number of meetings I attended when I was with the president. My work is in the Senate. Since Raila signed the agreement, my work is now easy. I just sit with a marking scheme; should the police abduct anyone, then Ruto will have gone against the agreement,” Sifuna noted.
