A late-night parliamentary group meeting marred by chaos on Wednesday dealt another blow to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
Following the meeting, the former ODM Secretary-General was yesterday removed from his position as Senate Minority Whip, as divisions within the opposition continued to deepen.
The meeting, held at the office of Senate Minority Leader Ledama Ole Kina, exposed cracks within the Azimio coalition and intensified claims that a group of ODM senators had executed a plan allegedly agreed upon earlier during a meeting with President William Ruto at State House.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has already effected the leadership changes.Migori Senator Eddy Gicheru Oketch has taken over the position.
The decision came only days after Mr. Sifuna lost another influential role when he was dropped from the Senate’s powerful Energy Committee, chaired by ODM leader Oburu Oginga.
The move also followed his removal as ODM Secretary-General, a decision he has vowed to challenge, signalling what he describes as an aggressive campaign by the pro-government faction within the broad-based administration to weaken his political influence.
Wednesday’s meeting was marked by dramatic scenes, quickly descending into procedural disputes that culminated in heated exchanges and confrontations among senators over the legitimacy of the meeting.
Several senators who spoke to Taifa Leo said they were surprised to receive notice of the meeting only a few hours before it began.
The notice, sent by Senate Minority Leader Ledama Ole Kina at around 5:45 p.m., invited senators to attend a parliamentary group meeting at 7:30 p.m. in his office.
The communication did not specify the agenda, raising suspicion among senators allied to Mr. Sifuna and members of the breakaway Linda Mwananchi faction, many of whom had heard reports that a group of ODM senators had visited State House earlier that afternoon.
According to those interviewed, concerns grew because the invitation came only hours after ODM legislators, led by Dr. Oburu Oginga, attended a luncheon hosted by President Ruto at State House.
Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda confirmed that some senators had attended the event.”We attended a luncheon with the President, which is perfectly normal.
It is customary for us to have lunch with the President, so it has nothing to do with this decision,” Senator Ojienda said.He also confirmed that he personally moved the motion to remove Sifuna.
“I am the one who tabled the motion to remove Sifuna,” he said.Members questioned why the meeting had been convened on such short notice and why senators had not been informed in advance that changes in the leadership were on the agenda.
Others argued that such an important decision should not have been made hastily without giving all coalition members adequate time to attend.
