Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna has hinted at letting go of his secretary general post in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Speaking publicly for the first time since the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) approved his removal, Sifuna seemed to have surrendered.
Addressing the matter while attending a church service at St Stephen's Cathedral in Kisumu Sunday, July 12, Sifuna expressed gratitude to residents of Kisumu for standing by him throughout his tenure at the party.
"I want to thank the people of Kisumu for all the support, and standing by me all this time when I have been the secretary general of ODM," he said.
The senator drew heavily on the day's sermon to frame his response to the ouster, telling the congregation that the bishop had preached that anything taken away would ultimately be restored.
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He used the message as a lens through which to describe his removal from the SG position, a role he said was entrusted to him by deceased ODM party leader Raila Odinga.
Sifuna likened the situation to what can happen in a household after a father's death.
"As usual, when a father dies in a home, outsiders come to take away things from the children," he said, suggesting that forces outside the immediate family of the party's founding leadership were behind his removal.
Despite the setback, Sifuna tied his optimism directly to the sermon in the church, remaining hopeful that he would rise politically.
"The bishop has said all that is taken from us will be restored by God," he said, adding that everything given to him by both Raila Odinga and the Kenyan people would ultimately be returned.
Sifuna used the moment to appeal for cohesion within ODM and across the wider Western Kenya and Nyanza political alliance, warning against attempts to use the internal party dispute to sow division.
He was emphatic that the union of Kenyans in Western and Nyanza region would not fracture over the leadership wrangles in ODM.
"No one should lie to you because of all that has happened in the party, then Western Kenya has problems with Nyanza. Just because of the problems in the party we should not fight amongst ourselves," he said.
He urged calm among the party faithful, insisting that despite the turmoil at the leadership level, ordinary members and allied communities should not turn against one another.
