Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has lost his position as Senate Deputy Minority Whip after the Senate formally approved a leadership change by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), paving the way for Migori Senator Eddy Gicheru Oketch to take over the role with immediate effect.
Speaker Amason Kingi announced the changes in the House on Thursday after confirming that the Minority Party had complied with the Senate Standing Orders governing the removal and election of Minority leadership officials.
Kingi told senators that he had received a formal communication from the Minority leadership together with all the documents required under Standing Order 23, including meeting minutes, a resolution on the changes and evidence showing support from Minority Party senators.
“As you are aware, Standing Order 23(4) provides that a senator elected under this provision may be removed by a majority of the votes of all senators belonging to the Minority Party,” Kingi said.
He explained that Standing Order 23(6) requires any such decision to be communicated to the Speaker together with the minutes of the meeting where it was made and proof that it was supported by members of the Minority Party.
According to the Speaker, the documents submitted by the Senate Minority Leader included minutes of the Minority Party meeting held on July 15, 2026, a copy of the resolution removing Sifuna from office and two duly signed lists of senators backing the decision.
“From the correspondence, the minutes indicate that a resolution was passed to remove the Deputy Senate Minority Whip in accordance with Standing Order 23(4),” Kingi said.
He said the same meeting also elected Migori Senator Eddy Gicheru Oketch to replace Sifuna as Deputy Senate Minority Whip in line with Standing Order 23(5).
“The minutes further indicate the Minority Party elected Senator Eddy Gicheru Oketch, MP, to serve as the Deputy Senate Minority Whip in his place,” he told the House.
Kingi said his responsibility under Standing Order 23(7) was to verify that the documents submitted met the legal requirements before formally communicating the decision to the Senate.
“In this regard, I have verified the correspondence received and hereby communicate that the Minority Party has effected a change in the office of the Deputy Senate Minority Whip. The new office holder, with immediate effect, is Senator Eddy Gicheru Oketch, MP,” the Speaker announced.
Newly appointed Senate Deputy Minority Whip Eddy Oketch. PHOTO/Handout.
The latest leadership changes add to Sifuna’s recent political setbacks after he was removed as the Orange Democratic Movement Secretary-General.
The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties later confirmed the changes, saying it had reviewed the documents submitted by ODM and established that the party’s National Executive Committee had followed both the Political Parties Act and the ODM Constitution before effecting the new leadership.