Bolt out! Nyamita tells Sifuna over ODM-UDA adreement remarks

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna continues to face backlash from within the party following his declaration that the ODM–UDA MoU is "dead." 

Uriri MP Mark Nyamita has become the latest to publicly criticise Sifuna, faulting him for what he termed as hypocrisy and lack of political integrity.

Speaking Thursday during a TV interview, Nyamita said Sifuna’s position was inconsistent and undermined the party’s collective stance.

"Sifuna portrays himself as someone who does not have a conscience. Because if you didn’t believe in the MoU in the first place, and you are the Secretary General, why sign it?" he posed.

"If you don’t believe in the association, simply bolt out. It is simple.”

Nyamita added that ODM party leader Raila Odinga had already made it clear that any effort to remove President William Ruto must follow constitutional means and happen at the ballot in 2027. 

He faulted Sifuna for failing to offer valid reasons for prematurely pushing for the President’s removal.

"If we are to remove him, we have to remove him for a valid reason. That valid reason, Sifuna did not give on that day," he stated.

He further criticised Sifuna’s dismissal of development projects like the dualling of the Nairobi–Malaba–Busia highway.

According to the Nairobi Senator, Ruto’s removal is the top priority more than anything else.

"Sifuna is the Senator for Nairobi, where all the roads are available. He can only complain about potholes. For those of us who live in the countryside, we welcome any effort by government to address long-standing infrastructure issues,” Nyamita said.

The controversy stems from Sifuna’s recent interview where he declared the ODM–UDA deal “dead,” citing continued police brutality, including the death of blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody on June 8.

Sifuna said the MoU had two pillars, which are protection of lives and safeguarding of democracy.

While democracy had held, he said, innocent lives were still being lost, rendering the agreement meaningless.

"On the day Albert Ojwang dies in a police cell, for me, this agreement is dead,” Sifuna said in the interview.

He also rejected a proposal to join a review team on the agreement, saying, “I am not a mortician,” and defended his belief that removing President Ruto had now become a national priority.

Sifuna also distanced himself from the ongoing cooperation, stating that the pact no longer holds and should be considered defunct.

“I have asked respectfully that I be left out of that team because I have already declared this MoU dead. I have already done so publicly. So there is no point. I’m not a mortician. There is no point in me going to go through a document that I’ve already declared dead,” he said.