The political future of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been thrown into fresh uncertainty after a senior United Democratic Party (UDP) party official rejected reports that the senator and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya are set to take control of the party.
UDP Vice Chairman and Acting Deputy Party Leader Mohammed Abikar said the party’s leadership cannot be handed over through political negotiations or informal arrangements, insisting that any transition must follow the party’s constitution and be approved by delegates.
Abikar’s remarks come days after Natembeya publicly identified UDP as the political vehicle expected to carry Sifuna’s presidential ambitions ahead of the 2027 General Election. Natembeya said opposition players would eventually negotiate a single presidential candidate, with Sifuna being positioned for the ticket.
Abikar has now drawn a clear line, saying UDP’s current officials were elected during the party’s 2022 National Delegates Conference at Multimedia University. He maintains that the vacant party leader position, following the death of former leader Cyrus Jirongo, can only be filled through another National Delegates Conference.
“Any transition to a new party leader must be deliberate, well-planned, and anchored on one conditional principle: delegates’ consensus, not backroom deals,” Abikar said.
Despite rejecting claims of an imminent takeover, Abikar said UDP was not opposed to Sifuna, Natembeya, or other like-minded politicians joining the party. He, however, warned against what he described as a “backdoor” attempt to alter the party’s leadership.
The official also said UDP had placed its lawyers on alert over the leadership dispute, signalling the possibility of legal proceedings if the party’s constitutional procedures are bypassed.
