REGISTRAR OF POLITICAL PARTIES CONFIRMS SENATOR SIFUNA’S REMOVAL AS ODM SECRETARY GENERAL

The protracted standoff between Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and the Orange Democratic Movement Party has taken a decisive turn after the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties formally confirmed his removal as Secretary General.

The registrar said on July 9 that the decision to remove Sifuna as the ODM party secretary general was made after reviewing the information provided by the party and the lack of response from the senator.

The ODM National Executive Committee recently dismissed Sifuna from the party’s top leadership.

Sifuna, through lawyer Isaac Okero, challenged the registrar’s decision, terming the conclusion “instant and hasty.”

Okero argued that the changes effected in ODM’s records failed to comply with the the Political Parties Act, rendering the action ultra vires. He indicated that they would seek appropriate legal relief.

ODM Deputy Secretary General and Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo welcomed the registrar’s decision, saying the party had “waited for so long to get a greenlight to drop errant members from the party leadership structures.”