This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna has come out to defend the party against criticism over the conduct of Embakasi East MP Babu Owino. The criticism has been ongoing since January when Babu Owino was charged with attempted murder following the shooting of Felix Orinda alias DJ Evolve at B-Club, Nairobi.
On July 8, Sifuna responded to the criticism, stating that the party would not hesitate to expel Babu Owino if he was found guilty by the courts. He emphasized that the rule applied to all party members, with conviction required for a party member to be expelled based on charges brought against them.
“He is not walking free. He has been charged and is out on bail. Our code of conduct is very clear. Once you are found guilty of a crime we will expel you from the Party. People look at his political party as if his politics is what informed his action,” Sifuna stated in a radio interview.
Sifuna further pointed out the irony of being questioned by Kenyans who voted for President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto in 2013 when they were accused of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We are the same people that defiled that and made sure it doesn’t matter what somebody is accused of. Your current President and Deputy, when they were elected, what were they facing,” Sifuna posed.
He argued that it was evidence of a much-needed conversation in Kenya about national ethos, one of the key issues identified in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) led by Uhuru and Raila. Sifuna claimed that Chapter Six of the 2010 Constitution which deals with integrity had been ignored and forgotten, touting BBI as the antidote.
