Babu Owino denies fallout with Sifuna, reaffirms support for his 2027 bid

NAIROBI, Kenya—Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has sought to draw a line between disagreements over the political vehicle for the Linda Mwananchi movement and his personal and political relationship with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.

Babu, speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, dismissed reports of a fallout with Sifuna and reaffirmed his support for the senator’s bid for the presidency in the 2027 General Election.

The lawmaker, however, acknowledged differences over how the movement should organise itself politically, revealing that he already has a registered political party that he said was established before Linda Mwananchi emerged.

Babu said his relationship with Sifuna dates back to a turbulent period within the Orange Democratic Movement when Sifuna, then the party’s Secretary General, was facing possible disciplinary action.

According to Babu, Sifuna sought his advice on whether to attend an ODM National Executive Committee meeting in Mombasa at a time when tensions within the party were escalating.

“Sifuna called me when he was almost being suspended from ODM as Secretary General, and I was there for my brother because I know what was happening in ODM; I was the first casualty, and therefore I knew that he was experiencing a very tough moment in the party,” Babu said.

Babu said he advised Sifuna against attending the Mombasa meeting and continued supporting him after his eventual suspension.

He also recalled how the two began organising political activities together, saying Sifuna had initially planned to travel to Narok to meet more than 200 ODM delegates before he persuaded him to instead hold a rally in Kitengela.

Babu said he mobilised Bob Njagi and other political allies in Kitengela and Kajiado before meeting Sifuna, with the subsequent rally marking the beginning of a political partnership that would later grow into Linda Mwananchi.

“The rally was very successful, and then we decided to organise the subsequent rallies,” he said.

He said the movement later gained momentum as its leaders held rallies in different parts of the country, eventually positioning Sifuna as one of the principals seeking the presidency in 2027.

Babu was emphatic that the two were not political rivals despite his own ambition to become Nairobi governor.

“I want to tell you Kenyans that, as Babu Owino, I’m supporting Sifuna for President 100%,” he said.

He cited his participation in Linda Mwananchi activities in Kisumu, Meru, Bungoma, Mombasa and Trans Nzoia as evidence of his support for Sifuna, despite his own political base being in Nairobi.

“My voters are not in Meru. My voters are not in Bungoma, Mombasa or Trans Nzoia that we went to. I went because I was being there for my brother,” Babu said.

He rejected suggestions that his participation in the tours was aimed at building his own political profile outside Nairobi.

“I wasn’t going there to gain any political traction or mileage; I was going there to stand with my brother,” he said.

Babu also dismissed claims that his gubernatorial ambitions had put him at odds with Sifuna, noting that the two were pursuing different elective positions.

“Babu Owino is vying for Governor of Nairobi County, Sifuna is vying for President, there is no conflicting interest, why would we fight?” he posed.

The political vehicle question

The sharper disagreement, however, appears to centre on the political vehicle through which Linda Mwananchi would organise and contest elections.

Babu disclosed that he already had a registered political party, saying the decision to establish his own political vehicle came after an ODM gathering at Bomas of Kenya on February 10, 2025.

He said he had initially understood the gathering to be a prayer meeting connected to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission chairperson position, only to find ODM leaders endorsing Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for a second term.

“From that day, because I knew that ODM would never give me a chance to contest as Governor of Nairobi, I decided that I would have my own political party,” Babu said.

He said he subsequently made three unsuccessful attempts to register a political party before securing one early this year.

“At the fourth attempt, I managed to get a party, early this year. That is long before Linda Mwananchi came into being,” he said.

Babu said the movement later realised it needed a political party through which its leaders could organise and contest elections.

According to his account, Linda Mwananchi principals held a retreat and formed a four-member committee to identify and consolidate possible political parties that could serve as the movement’s vehicle.

He said several members had political parties, although some had not completed the registration process.

Babu said Saboti MP Caleb Amisi later left the movement after his party’s registration process progressed, leaving his own party as one of the main registered options available to the movement.

The situation became more complicated, he said, after another Linda Mwananchi principal introduced the Ukombozi People’s Party as an alternative political vehicle.

Babu said he subsequently sought clarification from Sifuna after the senator was reportedly proposed as leader of the Ukombozi People’s Party.

“He was clear with me that there was no problem if we have a coalition as Linda Mwananchi so that he gets the position of the coalition party leadership and Babu Owino is also party leader of his party. He had no problem with that,” Babu said.

The comments come against a backdrop of public reports of disagreements within Linda Mwananchi over the political vehicle to be used ahead of the 2027 elections. Other reporting has identified the choice of party as a key point of contention, with Sifuna’s camp associated with Ukombozi People’s Party while Babu has pushed for a coalition arrangement that would allow different parties to retain their identities.

Babu, however, sought to separate that disagreement from his relationship with Sifuna, maintaining that his political decision to establish an alternative party predates Linda Mwananchi.

He also indicated that his focus would increasingly shift towards his Nairobi gubernatorial campaign, while maintaining that he would continue supporting Linda Mwananchi and Sifuna’s presidential bid.

The development leaves the movement facing two related but distinct questions: how its principals will settle on a political vehicle for the 2027 election, and how they will balance individual political ambitions while maintaining the coalition that has driven Linda Mwananchi’s recent nationwide mobilisation.

For Babu, however, the message from Tuesday’s briefing was clear: disagreements over the political vehicle should not be interpreted as a breakdown in his relationship with Sifuna.

By; Fatma Hatib.