Fresh blow for Sifuna in Senate reshuffle
Politics
By
Edwin Nyarangi
| Jun 17, 2026
Embattled ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna has been removed from the Senate Energy Committee following changes announced by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot.
The Nairobi Senator has been replaced by Moses Kajwang in the committee and will no longer be a member of the committee chaired by Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga who is the also the ODM Party Leader.
In further changes announced by Cheruiyot, Garissa Senator Abdul Haji has replaced Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogolla on the Senate Energy Committee, while Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu has also replaced Ogolla on the Senate Committee on Information, Communication and Technology.
Senator Ogolla has replaced Senator Kajwang as a Member of the Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Committee and it was very clear from the changes that unlike the other Senators who were moved to other committees Sifuna did not swap position with any of his colleagues.
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He now remains a member of the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Kajwang, and the Senate National Security, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Fatuma Dullo.
“Notwithstanding the resolution of the Senate made on February 12, 2025 on the approval of Senators to serve in various Standing Committees of the Senate and pursuant to Standing Orders 197, 199, 228 and the Fourth Schedule to the Standing Orders, the Senate has approved the following Senators nominated by the Senate Business Committee to serve in various committees,” said Cheruiyot.
Sifuna and Oburu have publicly differed over the direction of ODM following the party's cooperation agreement with President William Ruto's administration.
Earlier this year, Sifuna made it clear that he was uncomfortable serving under Oburu's leadership after the Siaya Senator assumed a more prominent role within the party following ODM leader Raila Odinga's entry into the broad-based government arrangement.
Sifuna was one of the most vocal members of the Energy Committee and played a prominent role in questioning the controversial Adani airport deal before it was eventually cancelled.
In April 2024, he revealed that the Senate had written to the Ministry of Roads and Transport seeking details of the proposed Public-Private Partnership between the government and Adani, but the information had not been provided.
“I have heard my colleagues congratulating Davies Chirchir for being appointed Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary, I am withholding my congratulations until he proves to me that he is up to the task. Personally, I know nothing about the Adani deal despite being the Senator of Nairobi,” said Sifuna in April 2024.
The latest committee changes are likely to fuel speculation about deepening divisions within ODM. Sifuna is associated with the "Linda Mwananchi" faction, which has been critical of the party's cooperation with Kenya Kwanza, while Oburu is seen as a key figure in the "Linda Ground" camp that supports engagement with the government.
The Nairobi Senator has repeatedly criticised what he terms ODM's political compromises and has called for a National Delegates Conference to elect new party leaders.
“I refuse to be the SG of mediocrity, I refuse to be the SG of Oburu Oginga, these characters do not deserve me, let them ask for a proper NDC where in our line-up we shall present candidates for all the party positions,” said Sifuna in March this year.