The Linda Mwananchi brigade during a political tour in Bungoma on July 26, 20206. Photo: edwinsifuna/X.
Opposition movement draws thousands in Bungoma homecoming as leaders hint at new party and back senator’s presidential bid
By MKT Reporter
The Linda Mwananchi movement yesterday drew large crowds across Bungoma County as Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna held homecoming rallies through Western Kenya, with opposition leaders formally backing his 2027 presidential bid and hinting at the formation of a breakaway political party.
Thousands lined the roads as the movement traversed Kiminini, Kamukuywa, Kimilili and Chwele before converging for the main rally, in scenes that underscored the growing momentum behind a political formation that has moved rapidly from fringe agitation to a credible electoral force in the space of months. The reception in Bungoma — Sifuna’s home county — was particularly fervent, with supporters turning out in numbers that will give both the opposition and the ruling Kenya Kwanza alliance cause to reassess their calculations for the country’s most fiercely contested vote-rich region outside Nairobi.
Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, who has positioned himself as one of the movement’s most vocal regional anchors, delivered the sharpest declaration of the day, invoking the phrase that has historically marked a definitive political endorsement in Kenyan politics.
“If they dish out money, you take it. I want to challenge the united opposition to stand up and say Sifuna tosha,” Natembeya told the crowd to sustained applause.
The invocation of “tosha” — the Kiswahili declaration meaning “enough” or “sufficient”, last used memorably in 2002 when Raila Odinga endorsed Mwai Kibaki — is not a casual political gesture in Kenyan political culture. It signals that a candidate has been deemed ready, capable and worthy of the highest office. Its deployment in Bungoma yesterday will be noted far beyond Western Kenya.
Siaya Governor James Orengo, a seasoned political strategist and one of the opposition’s most respected constitutional voices, added his weight to the case against the incumbent, arguing that President William Ruto had forfeited public confidence.
“President Ruto has lost favour with the Kenyan electorate,” Orengo said, a blunt assessment from a man not known for rhetorical excess.
But the most consequential signal from yesterday’s rallies may not have been the endorsement of Sifuna’s presidential bid — it was the suggestion that the opposition is preparing to abandon the ODM structure entirely and build something new. Sifuna himself, who currently serves as ODM Secretary-General, was unambiguous about what he believes has happened to the party he helped build.
“It is evident that they have sold off our party to William Ruto. Now allow us to look for a different alternative,” Sifuna said.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi followed immediately with a declaration that made the direction of travel explicit. “And that party will include everyone — including you,” he told supporters, gesturing to the crowds.
The suggestion of a new party carries significant implications. ODM under the Oburu Oginga-led faction has been negotiating a broad-based arrangement with UDA that would see the party share power with Ruto’s administration — a direction that Sifuna’s wing has consistently opposed. If the Linda Mwananchi faction formally splits and registers a new vehicle, it would fracture what remains of one of Kenya’s most historically powerful opposition structures, potentially reshaping the entire landscape of the 2027 race. It would also force a reckoning among ODM’s grassroots supporters about which faction represents the party’s authentic identity.
Western Kenya, with its projected 3.2 million votes across Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia and Trans Nzoia counties, has become the most fought-over political terrain outside Mt Kenya. Ruto’s allies have been working to consolidate the region through development pledges and the influence of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula. The Linda Mwananchi movement, with Natembeya providing grassroots reach, Sifuna providing the presidential narrative, and Orengo lending constitutional credibility, is mounting a direct challenge to that consolidation effort.
The movement also turned its attention yesterday to the electoral process itself. Embakasi East MP Babu Owino issued a pointed warning to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, demanding transparent and credible management of next year’s polls.
“Our votes will not be stolen. We will get vehicles and travel to Nairobi after casting our votes to protect them,” Owino said — a statement that reflected both the opposition’s deep distrust of the electoral machinery and its determination to mobilise supporters beyond polling day itself.
The challenge before Sifuna and his allies now is to convert yesterday’s energy into durable organisation. Crowd sizes in Western Kenya have historically been an imperfect predictor of electoral outcomes — the region has a long record of delivering large rallies for candidates who subsequently underperform at the ballot. Building the structures that translate enthusiasm into votes, particularly in an environment where resources are unevenly distributed, will test the movement’s operational capacity in the months ahead.
A TIFA Research poll published last month placed Sifuna at 15 per cent nationally — a remarkable rise from near zero in 2025 — and at 44 per cent as ODM’s preferred presidential candidate. Those numbers are significant, but they also reflect the distance still to travel. Ruto retains incumbent advantages, state resources, and a coalition that, fractured as it may be, still controls the machinery of government.
Yesterday in Bungoma, however, the opposition did something it has struggled to do for much of this electoral cycle. It offered a name, a narrative, and a crowd.
Whether that is enough by August 2027 is the only question that matters.
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