Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has explained why he walked away from Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi movement, revealing that the two had initially agreed on how they would share leadership positions in a new political party.
Speaking during an interview with K24 on Friday, November 13, Babu said the original plan was for Sifuna to become the party’s presidential candidate while he would take up the position of party leader.
He said the arrangement had been discussed with other members who were planning to leave the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and establish a new political outfit.
However, Babu claimed the agreement changed after the group left ODM, with some members proposing that Sifuna should also become the party leader.
“Initially, we had agreed with Sifuna and other members that the moment we get the party out, Sifuna was to be the presidential candidate and I was to be the party leader, but things changed. I also don’t know how things changed,” he said.
The Embakasi East MP explained that some members believed a person seeking the presidency should also lead the party. He, however, maintained that both leaders needed independent positions to build their political careers.
“Some were saying that a presidential candidate cannot fail to be a party leader. But we said that we needed to both of us grow. Both of us had to grow,” he added.
Babu’s remarks come weeks after he left the Linda Mwananchi movement and joined Muungano Party, which was later renamed the Mwananchi Party.
His departure sparked questions about his relationship with Sifuna, who had been associated with the movement as the two explored a political path outside ODM.
Sifuna had initially attempted to register Linda Mwananchi as a political party but encountered challenges at the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP). He later joined the Equitable Party (TEP).
On Friday, November 13, TEP officially changed its name to Linda Mwananchi Movement, giving Sifuna a political party through which to pursue his ambitions.
Babu said his decision to take a different political route was based on the need to protect his own interests rather than remain in an arrangement where one leader could advance while the other was left behind.
“And politics is about interest. There is no way one was to grow and leave the other one down,” he said.
He also defended the proposed arrangement, arguing that having Sifuna as the presidential candidate and himself as party leader would have provided a way to maintain accountability within the party.
Babu suggested that the party leadership would have offered him some security even if Sifuna eventually became President.
He nevertheless dismissed claims that the two were competing politically, saying they were interested in different elective positions.
“There can’t be competition between Babu and Sifuna. Sifuna is going for president, Babu is going for governor,” he stated.
The MP maintained that he still supports Sifuna’s presidential ambitions despite choosing to pursue his own political path ahead of the 2027 General Election.