Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has accused President William Ruto’s administration of reversing the gains Kenya has made as a nation, insisting that the country must return to the constitutional values of equality, human rights and respect for the rule of law.
Speaking during the rebranding of his TEP Party to Linda Mwananchi, Sifuna acknowledged that the journey towards establishing a new political party had been difficult, despite the Constitution guaranteeing every Kenyan the right to form and join political parties.
“This journey has been very difficult, although everyone has a constitutional right to form a political party,” Sifuna said.
The senator lamented the loss of lives during the political struggles, saying the country had paid a heavy price in the pursuit of political and democratic freedoms.
“We have lost many lives,” he stated.
Sifuna also thanked Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for allowing their political strongholds to host meetings organised by his team without incidents of violence.
“I thank Kalonzo Musyoka and Rigathi Gachagua because we have held political meetings in your strongholds and we were not attacked,” he said.
However, he accused individuals associated with the broad-based political arrangement of disrupting their meetings, claiming that their gatherings were only interfered with by what he termed as the “Broad-Based people.”
The senator further accused the government of placing numerous obstacles in their path as they sought to establish the Equitable Party, saying the challenges had not deterred them because of the political lessons they learnt from the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
“Kasongo placed many obstacles in our way as we tried to form this party, but he did not know that we are students of Baba Raila Odinga,” Sifuna remarked.
He also took a swipe at the government, alleging that the administration introduced the slogan Usawa ni Sawa after learning that he was associated with the Equitable Party.
“When Kasongo heard that Sifuna had a party called Equitable Party, he started talking about ‘Usawa ni Sawa’,” he said.
Turning to governance, Sifuna accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of reversing the country’s democratic and constitutional achievements.
“The government of William Ruto has overseen a rollback of all the gains we have made as a nation,” he said.
He called on the government to uphold the Constitution, respect human rights and guarantee equality for all Kenyans regardless of their backgrounds.
“We want a government that respects the Constitution and human rights and brings equality to everyone,” Sifuna stated.
He further challenged the administration to restore the six essential values outlined in Article 10 of the Constitution, which include patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, the rule of law, democracy and public participation, human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination and protection of marginalised groups.
“You must return this country to the six essential values in the Constitution,” Sifuna said.
