Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amollo has defended the decision by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) National Executive Committee to remove Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna from his position as Secretary-General.
The legislator said that due process was followed and that the senator was allowed to respond to the allegations.
MP Amollo said the NEC was presented with a report from the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Committee, which indicated that Sifuna had been accorded ample time to present his defence before the final decision was made.
“As the National Executive Committee, we were presented with a report of our internal disciplinary committee. In that report, they made it very clear that they had given ample opportunity to Senator Edwin Sifuna to respond,” Amollo said.
He said Sifuna did respond to the allegations through his legal representatives, which he said satisfied the procedural requirements of the party’s disciplinary process.
“He actually responded through his lawyers, and therefore, the question of procedural fairness has been taken care of. He was allowed to respond,” he said
The ODM NEC had earlier announced that it unanimously endorsed the committee’s findings, effectively ending Sifuna’s tenure as secretary-general.
The decision was announced on Monday by acting ODM Secretary-General Catherine Omanyo following a meeting of the party’s top decision-making organ.
Reading the NEC resolution, Omanyo said the committee had considered a report by the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Committee (IDRC), which had been constituted under Article 51.3(f) of the ODM constitution to hear and determine a complaint against Sifuna in his capacity as secretary-general.
“The NEC received and considered the report of the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Committee and, after going through the findings under Article 74(2) of the party constitution, unanimously resolved to adopt the committee’s recommendations and endorsed the removal from office of Senator Edwin Watenya Sifuna,” Omanyo said.
She added that the decision takes immediate effect, meaning Sifuna ceases to hold the office of secretary-general of the party.
In justifying its position, the party cited remarks made by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT), which underscored the importance of internal party discipline and accountability.
“The day any official of a party becomes above the law, so to speak, will be the day of the funeral of political party democracy in Kenya. If such a situation were to occur as a matter of fact, this tribunal would never sanction the same by law, for such would be an affront to the law,” the tribunal stated.
The tribunal further noted that it was reluctant to interfere with a political party’s disciplinary mechanisms, arguing that doing so would amount to micromanaging political parties.
The ODM NEC also extended its best wishes to Sifuna following his removal from office.
“We take this opportunity to wish our former secretary-general well in his future endeavours and engagements,” Omanyo said.
This comes days after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruled that Senator Sifuna was not accorded a fair hearing before the decision to remove him as ODM SG was taken.
