Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has linked his fallout with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to the death of Albert Ojwang in police custody, saying the incident changed his relationship with the party.
Speaking during a Linda Mwananchi Movement mobilisation rally in Nyandiwa, Homa Bay County, on Sunday, Sifuna said his problems within ODM started when police officers travelled from Nairobi to Homa Bay and arrested Ojwang.
“All my problems within the ODM party began on the day police officers came from Nairobi, came to Homa Bay and took away a young man called Albert Ojwang,” Sifuna said.
He said the incident became a turning point after he had entered into an agreement with people associated with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), which he said included a commitment to stop the killing of young people.
Sifuna said Ojwang’s death made him decide that he could no longer be associated with what he described as oppressors.
He also linked the decision to his removal as ODM Secretary-General.
“And because we had signed an agreement with people from UDA that the killing of young people would stop, the day they killed Ojwang, I said that was the day I would no longer associate myself with oppressors,” he said.
Ojwang, who was a teacher, blogger and social media commentator, was arrested on June 7, 2025, at his family home in Kakoth, near Homa Bay. His arrest followed social media posts concerning then Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat.
He was later taken to Nairobi, where he was found unconscious in his cell the following day. He was taken to Mbagathi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A postmortem examination reported severe head injuries caused by blunt-force trauma, neck compression consistent with strangulation and other soft-tissue injuries.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) opened investigations into the death, while later forensic findings pointed to physical assault.
The case remains before the High Court. Proceedings in July 2026 included allegations concerning possible interference with CCTV evidence at Central Police Station.
At the Nyandiwa rally, Sifuna also praised residents for removing roadblocks that had been placed along the route of the Linda Mwananchi convoy.
The mobilisation had earlier been disrupted by tensions in Ndhiwa, where police used tear gas after a group attempted to block the motorcade.
Sifuna’s remarks placed Ojwang’s death at the centre of his explanation for the political differences that later emerged between him and ODM.
