NAIROBI, Kenya — Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has claimed that leaders backing Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna deliberately presented several political parties as possible alternatives to conceal The Equitable Party (TEP), which has now been adopted as Sifuna’s political vehicle for the 2027 presidential election.
Khalwale made the claim during TEP’s unveiling in Nairobi on Sunday, October 4, where Sifuna was formally presented as the party’s leader and presidential candidate.
He said the strategy was adopted after Sifuna’s allies became concerned that efforts to secure a political party could be frustrated.
“I want to tell the government that they are dealing with a group of thinkers. When we saw that you were planning to frustrate Edwin Sifuna on the issue of parties, we decided to give it to you,” Khalwale said.
He claimed the group deliberately mentioned several other political parties while keeping TEP away from public attention until preparations were complete.
Khalwale cited the National Liberal Party associated with Siaya Governor James Orengo as the first of what he described as the “decoy” parties.
“We said that Siaya governor has his own party known as National Liberal, which was a decoy,” he said.
He also named Embakasi East MP Babu Owino’s Mwananchi Party and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya’s United Democratic Party (UDP).
“We said that Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has his own party known as Mwananchi, decoy as well. We said that Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has his party, UDP, also a decoy,” Khalwale said.
The senator said he later introduced his own United Patriotic Movement (UPM) as another possible option when he believed TEP risked being discovered.
“The other day when everything was almost ready and they were about to discover about TEP, we said, ‘I have my party UPM,’ which was also a decoy. Now what will the government do?” he said.
Khalwale did not provide evidence that the parties he named had formally participated in a coordinated plan to conceal TEP. His remarks were presented as an account of the strategy adopted by Sifuna’s political allies.
Babu Owino responded from the platform by rejecting the suggestion that his party was merely a decoy.
“And Khalwale, mine is not a decoy; this is legit,” Babu said.
The remarks came as Sifuna’s allies formally unveiled TEP as the platform for his presidential campaign.
TEP leader Gilbert Marava said the party was restructuring its leadership to accommodate Sifuna and his supporters while retaining its existing membership.
“On our end, we have decided to restructure, and in the process, those who registered will stay, and we will bring in our brothers,” Marava said.
He subsequently announced Sifuna as the party’s incoming leader and presidential candidate.
The party was not newly registered for Sifuna’s campaign. Records from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties show that TEP was registered on March 25, 2022.
Its adoption by Sifuna gives the Linda Mwananchi Movement a formal registered party through which to organise his presidential campaign and engage in possible political alliances ahead of the 2027 election.
Khalwale also used the occasion to caution Sifuna that securing a party was only the beginning of a longer political process.
He urged the Nairobi senator to work with experienced opposition figures as he builds support for his presidential bid.
“Edwin, it takes some people a very long time to get there. Edwin, it takes some people a lifetime to get there. And Edwin, it takes others all the time, but they never get there,” Khalwale said.
He said Sifuna would need to work with leaders including Orengo, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, former Justice Minister Martha Karua and former Defence Minister Eugene Wamalwa.
“You are going to need to stand on the shoulders of James Orengo. You will need to humble yourself and stand on the shoulders of Riggy G. You will need to humble yourself, and I mean it, to stand on the shoulders of Kalonzo Musyoka. On the shoulders of Mother Karua. On the shoulders of your elder brother, Eugene Wamalwa,” he said.
Khalwale said the support of established political figures could not be demanded.
“For a man to give you his shoulders, you cannot force them. You persuade them. You beg them,” he said.
Sifuna’s move to TEP follows weeks of uncertainty over the political vehicle he and his allies would use for the 2027 election.
The Linda Mwananchi Movement had previously been associated with several possible political platforms as its leaders considered how to organise Sifuna’s presidential campaign.
Also Read: Sifuna takes over The Equitable Party, securing his 2027 presidential vehicle
The launch of TEP now gives the movement a formal party structure, although its wider relationship with other political parties and opposition leaders remains to be worked out.
Several figures associated with Linda Mwananchi attended Sunday’s launch, including Orengo, Natembeya, Babu Owino, Khalwale and Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi.
The event therefore served two purposes: formally placing Sifuna at the head of TEP and bringing together political figures who could form part of the broader coalition-building effort ahead of 2027.
For Khalwale, however, the party launch also provided an opportunity to reveal what he described as a deliberate effort to keep TEP out of sight while other political options were placed in the public domain.
His account has not been independently established, but it offers an insight into the political calculations surrounding Sifuna’s search for a party ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
