Sifuna’s new party must now turn excitement into electoral victory
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has launched his own political party, The Equitable Party, following a trend of Kenyan politicians seeking independent vehicles for their presidential ambitions. The move highlights ongoing issues with the registration of political parties and the influence of historical political mistrust.
Why it matters
The proliferation of individual-led political parties in Kenya reflects deep-seated mistrust in established party structures and impacts the country's democratic landscape.
Nairobi Senator Edwin during the launch of The Equitable Party /HANDOUT Ever since Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka fled with the registration instruments of the original ODM in 2007, leaving Raila Odinga briefly without a political party, the trend within Kenyan politics has been for every politician who considers himself big enough for national impact to acquire his own party.
The habit is born of the mistrust from, among others, the 2007 fiasco between Kalonzo and Raila, but mostly the fear that one may be denied a ticket by “owners” of a party, presumably assisted in no small measure by national intelligence.
It was therefore expected that a political party with Linda Mwananchi supremo, Edwin Sifuna, as its party leader, was always coming.
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