Sifuna Dropped from Senate Energy Committee in Major Standing Committee Shake-Up

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been removed from the Senate Energy Committee following a reshuffle of standing committees announced on Wednesday, 17 June.

The changes were presented to the House by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, who said they were made under standing orders that allow the Senate Business Committee to reassign members. As part of the reshuffle, Moses Kajwang replaced Sifuna on the Energy Committee, which is chaired by Oburu Oginga.

Several other committees were also affected. In the ICT Committee, Agnes Kavindu replaced Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogolla. Ogolla, who was also removed from the Energy Committee, was reassigned to the Agriculture Committee, taking over Kajwang’s previous position. Abdul Haji was also appointed to the Energy Committee.

Unlike the other senators affected by the changes, Sifuna was not assigned to a new committee. He remains a member of only two committees: the County Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Kajwang, and the National Security, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Fatuma Dullo.

Sifuna had been a prominent member of the Energy Committee and previously took a firm position on matters including the proposed expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Adani Group. The reshuffle comes at a time of growing divisions within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). 

Since Oburu assumed party leadership following the departure of Raila Odinga, disagreements have emerged over the party’s political direction. Sifuna, who serves as ODM Secretary-General, has become a leading figure in the Linda Mwananchi faction, which opposes cooperation between ODM and President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA). 

Oburu is associated with the Linda Ground faction, which supports continued engagement with the government. The differences between the two leaders have increasingly played out in public. 

Earlier this year, Sifuna said he was unwilling to serve under Oburu's leadership and called for a National Delegates Conference to determine the party’s future direction.