A chaotic late-night Parliamentary Group meeting on Wednesday dealt Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna another political blow, culminating in his ouster as Senate Deputy Minority Whip amid deepening divisions within the opposition.

The late-evening meeting, held in Senate Minority Whip Ledama Ole Kina's office, exposed widening divisions within the Azimio coalition and intensified claims that a section of ODM senators had executed a plan allegedly hatched earlier in the day during a meeting with President William Ruto at State House.

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has since ratified the changes. Migori Senator Eddy Gicheru Oketch takes over the role.

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi at the Senate in this picture taken on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group

The decision came barely days after Mr Sifuna lost another significant position when he was dropped from the influential Senate Energy Committee chaired by ODM party leader Oburu Oginga.

It also follows his removal as ODM Secretary-General, a decision he has vowed to challenge, signaling a relentless campaign by the pro-broad-based government wing of the party to strip him of influence.

Wednesday's meeting, however, was by far the most dramatic.

'Caught off guard'

The Parliamentary Group meeting quickly descended into a bitter procedural battle, culminating in heated exchanges and a brief confrontation among senators over the legality of the sitting.

A section of senators who spoke to the Nation claimed they were caught by surprise after receiving a notice convening the meeting only hours before it was scheduled to begin.

The notice, sent by Senate Minority Whip Ledama Ole Kina at about 5.45pm, invited senators to attend a Parliamentary Group meeting at 7.30pm in his office. Notably, the communication did not specify the agenda.

That omission immediately raised suspicion among senators allied to Mr Sifuna and the Linda Mwananchi faction, many of whom had already heard reports that a section of ODM senators had spent part of the afternoon at the State House.

According to those interviewed, concerns deepened because the invitation came only hours after a delegation of ODM lawmakers led by Dr Oginga attended a luncheon hosted by President William Ruto.

However, Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda confirmed to the Nation that some senators indeed attended the State House luncheon.

"We had gone for lunch with the President. Which is normal. It is normal for us to have lunch with the President and so it had nothing to do with this move," said Prof Ojienda.

Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda. A Nairobi court has awarded a lawyer Sh1 million after finding he was unfairly dismissed by his employer, Prof Tom Ojienda and Associates.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

He nevertheless confirmed that he personally moved the motion seeking Mr Sifuna's removal.

"I am the one who moved the motion for Sifuna's removal," he said.

According to Prof Ojienda, the matter boiled down to politics.

"It was basically about Tutam versus Wantam. So I moved the motion that was seconded by Senator Haji, who told Sifuna that the same way Senator Dullo was removed is the same way he was being removed. So it's basically politics."

Prof Ojienda said 12 senators voted in favour of removing Mr Sifuna while five opposed the motion.

"It was 12 against five and so Sifuna stands removed as Senate Deputy Minority Whip," he said.

However, senators opposed to the move disputed both the process and the outcome.

One senator who attended the meeting said objections were raised immediately after the sitting commenced.

Queries over short notice

Members questioned why the meeting had been convened at such short notice and why senators had not been informed in advance that leadership changes were on the agenda.

Others argued that such an important decision could not be rushed through without allowing all coalition members adequate time to attend.

Despite the objections, Senator Ole Kina ruled that the meeting would proceed, maintaining that quorum had been achieved.

According to senators present, he informed members that the purpose of the meeting was to deliberate on Mr Sifuna's removal.

A vote was subsequently conducted.

It was after voting that the meeting reportedly descended into confusion. Some senators claimed Minority Whip Ole Kina declined to announce the outcome immediately, insisting the process had not been concluded because senators who were absent would still be allowed to cast their votes the following day.

That position angered senators backing Mr Sifuna, who insisted the results should either be declared immediately or the entire exercise abandoned.

The disagreement quickly escalated into shouting as rival camps accused each other of manipulating parliamentary procedure.

There were also allegations of a brief physical confrontation after one senator allegedly attempted to punch another during the heated exchanges, although details remained unclear.

Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo confirmed that there had been an attempt to remove Mr Sifuna but maintained the process remained contentious.

"There was an attempt to remove Sifuna," Mr Maanzo told the Nation.

"Some ODM members went to State House for lunch and were ordered to remove Sifuna. There was push and pull but then people decided to vote. They didn't give us the result."

He added that the matter could ultimately be settled on the floor of the Senate. "We hope it's coming on the floor of the House this afternoon (Thursday). You can follow it from there."

Sources familiar with the vote told the Nation that Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, Nyamira Senator Okong'o Omogeni, Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua and Makueni Senator Maanzo were among those who supported Mr Sifuna.

Nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian is said to have abstained.

Another source said Senator Oketch initially declined to vote before later supporting Mr Sifuna's removal.

Mr Oketch did not pick calls when reached by Nation.

“It is very sad that an illegal ODM PG was held at State House under the chairmanship of Ruto and Senator Oburu as a subordinate. The meeting was attended by a small group of senators, mainly nominated senators. The PG meeting was convened at night, purporting it to be an Azimio PG. it is double standards because ODM recently said they had pulled out of the coalition,” Mr Osotsi said.

The vote highlighted the growing split within the opposition coalition, with senators increasingly aligning themselves either with the Linda Mwananchi faction, which insists ODM should remain firmly in opposition, or leaders backing the party's cooperation with President Ruto's administration.

Analysts say that the latest developments represent another setback for Mr Sifuna, who until recently occupied some of the most influential political positions within ODM and the Senate.

The fallout from the meeting spilled beyond Parliament almost immediately, with the Azimio Coalition leadership moving swiftly to challenge the legality of the decision.

Azimio Executive Director Philip Kisia wrote to Speaker Kingi, urging him not to act on the purported removal of Mr Sifuna until an internal coalition dispute is heard and determined.

In the letter dated July 16, Mr Kisia questioned both the procedure used to convene the meeting and the legitimacy of the resolution.

Philip Kisia.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

He noted that Senator Ole Kina issued notice of the Parliamentary Group meeting at 5.45pm for a sitting scheduled at 7.30pm, arguing that members had not been accorded sufficient notice to deliberate on a matter as significant as changing the coalition's parliamentary leadership.

According to Mr Kisia, the meeting itself ended in confusion after senators disagreed over the outcome of the vote.

"The meeting ended prematurely after a purported vote supported by 11 members resulted in a brief scuffle as the whip refused to declare the motion defeated. The Senate Standing Orders require that such a decision be supported by a majority of all members of the coalition PG," the letter states.

The Coalition Council also challenged the authority of the Parliamentary Group to alter Azimio's leadership without the approval of the coalition's top decision-making organ.

"We wish to refer you to the Coalition Agreement at Article 5D(3), which provides that the leadership of the coalition parliamentary group shall be determined by the Coalition Council," Mr Kisia wrote.

The letter goes further, introducing another legal complication.

According to the Coalition Council, ODM—the party whose senators overwhelmingly supported Mr Sifuna's removal—had earlier resolved to terminate its membership in the Azimio coalition, raising questions over whether its legislators could unilaterally reconstitute Azimio's parliamentary leadership.

"It is further instructive that the ODM party, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 11 members who supported the purported changes, had already resolved earlier this year to terminate their membership in the Azimio coalition," the letter says.

Mr Kisia urged Speaker Kingi to refrain from recognising the changes until the coalition's internal dispute resolution mechanisms are exhausted.

"In light of the above and being seized with a formal declaration of a dispute, we hereby request your office to desist from acting upon any purported resolution of the Senate Minority PG pending the determination of the dispute by the coalition's dispute resolution panel in line with Article 16 of the coalition agreement."

The protest sets the stage for what could become another legal and political contest over parliamentary leadership, with both procedural and constitutional questions likely to dominate the dispute.

For Mr Sifuna, Wednesday night's events mark another chapter in what has become a sustained campaign to strip him of influence within ODM and Parliament.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Only days ago, he was removed from the powerful Senate Energy Committee chaired by Dr Oburu Oginga and replaced by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang'. Unlike other senators affected by the reshuffle, Mr Sifuna was not assigned another committee, reducing his role in parliamentary oversight.

That move followed his controversial removal as ODM Secretary-General after the Registrar of Political Parties effected changes made by the party.

Mr Sifuna has since vowed to challenge that decision, insisting the process violated both the party constitution and the law.

His latest removal from the Senate leadership now leaves him increasingly isolated institutionally even as he continues to enjoy considerable political support among opposition leaders and sections of ODM.

The developments also lay bare the widening ideological battle within ODM. On one side are leaders aligned to Dr Oburu Oginga and those backing the party's broad-based cooperation with President William Ruto's administration.

On the other is the Linda Mwananchi faction led by Mr Sifuna, Siaya Governor James Orengo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, which insists ODM should remain a robust opposition party and resist closer ties with the Kenya Kwanza government.

That rivalry has increasingly spilled from party meetings into Parliament, where committee positions and leadership offices have become the latest battleground. Wednesday's events suggested the struggle is far from over.

While senators supporting Mr Sifuna insist the Parliamentary Group lacked the numbers and failed to follow due process, those behind his removal argue the coalition exercised its democratic right to reorganise its leadership.

Prof Ojienda maintained that the vote was conclusive and that politics—not personal differences—had informed the decision.

But supporters of Mr Sifuna remain unconvinced, insisting the hurried notice, omission of the agenda and the events preceding the meeting point to a predetermined outcome.

The alleged State House meeting earlier in the day has only intensified those suspicions, with critics claiming the night's events were merely the implementation of decisions reached elsewhere.

Those who attended the State House meeting have denied any such connection, insisting it was a routine engagement with the President.

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