Senator Edwin Sifuna Removed From ODM Committee Amid Rising ODM Internal Rifts

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been removed from the powerful Senate Energy Committee in a sweeping parliamentary committee reshuffle announced on the floor of the House on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

The structural changes were formally communicated by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, who tabled a notice of motion outlining a comprehensive reconstitution of several key standing committees.

The New Committee Lineup

Under the new changes sanctioned by the Senate Business Committee, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang has been nominated to replace Sifuna on the Energy Committee, effectively stripping the Nairobi lawmaker of his seat on the influential oversight panel, which is chaired by Siaya Senator Dr. Oburu Odinga.

“I rise to give notice of the following motion, which is a reconstitution of standing committees that, notwithstanding the resolution of the Senate made on February 12, 2025, is the approval of senators to serve in various committees,” Senator Cheruiyot announced during the legislative session. “Pursuant to standing orders 197 and 191, the Senate approves the following senators nominated by the Senate Business Committee to serve in the standing committees of the Senate.”

The realignment has triggered a domino effect across several other key dockets:

• Energy Committee: Alongside Sifuna’s exit, Garissa Senator Abdul Mohammed Haji has been nominated to replace Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogolla.

• Agriculture Committee: Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogolla has been redeployed here, filling the vacancy left behind by Moses Kajwang following his transfer to the Energy docket.

• ICT Committee: Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu is slated to replace Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogolla.

Political Undertones: The “Linda Mwananchi” Faction

While Senate leadership has framed the reshuffle as a routine, procedural reorganization of house committees, the timing of Sifuna’s removal has sparked intense political speculation. The changes come amid rapidly escalating ideological warfare within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Sifuna has recently emerged as a fierce champion of the breakaway ‘Linda Mwananchi’ faction—a rebellious wing of the party that has grown increasingly hostile toward Dr. Oburu Odinga and other party stalwarts.

At the heart of the crisis is ODM’s controversial political co-operation and broad-based governance pact with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA). Sifuna has consistently used his platform to vehemently oppose the handshake arrangement, accusing the party leadership of diluting its opposition mandate.

By stripping Sifuna of his membership on a lucrative committee chaired directly by Oburu Odinga, political analysts view the move as a calculated disciplinary strike by the party’s machinery to rein in the vocal Nairobi legislator. The proposed committee changes are expected to take effect immediately upon formal approval by the whole House.