Dear Hon. Edwin Sifuna (Omwami),
I hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits. As your friend and a fellow ODM member, I have watched your actions and utterances with keen interest over time. Our interactions, especially within the ODM party, have given me a closer perspective on your leadership. However, lately, I must admit, you have left me both surprised and concerned. It is out of this concern that I write to you today.
As a learned senior, you are well aware of the legal maxim “actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea”—an act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty. I have often excused your actions, assuming your intentions were pure and your mind innocent. But as the saying goes, actions are the mirror through which we glimpse the mind.
Our communities, like yours and mine, are rich in culture, proverbs, and traditions. Allow me to draw from this wisdom to address you.
1. DHI GI JI – GO WITH THE PEOPLE
It is your democratic right to hold and express your opinions. You also enjoy the political right to support or oppose any individual vying for a political seat, including H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto or anyone else. However, Hon. Sifuna, you are not an ordinary Kenyan. You are the Secretary General of a major political party. You speak for the people.
While you have openly opposed William Ruto (a right you undoubtedly possess), the very people you lead are praising him. This is why I do not address this message to my other friend, Hon. Babu Owino, whose loyalty may lie primarily with the people of Embakasi East. For you, however, your leadership extends to every ODM member—from Ng’ut Mbaka K’Owenga to Wuoth Ogik, from Sio Port to Watamu, from Todonyang’ to Office Ng’eny, and indeed across Kenya.
Don’t you think it’s time to retreat, listen to your people, and take stock? You are undoubtedly knowledgeable, but remember, people will not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
You represent the collective conscience of ODM. Communicate it faithfully, even if it contradicts your personal views. After all, no one requires you to like or agree with the grand position of ODM members; you simply need to abide by it if your leadership is to remain tenable. You can dislike Ruto all you want, but keep that to yourself—or join us in the trenches, where your words and actions are subject only to the law.
Someone observing you might conclude that you and Justin Bedan Muturi are drinking from the same pot and sharing the same tutor. Disabuse that notion.
I also know there are those cheering you on, especially after the resounding backing from H.E. Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o and Hon. Osotsi. But when the day of reckoning comes, they will not be there. They may be urging you to self-destruct, for as the saying goes, “when the gods want to destroy you, they first make you mad.” Remember Hon. Magerer?
2. WENDO MINU – YOUR MOTHER’S VISITOR
In my community, we practice widow inheritance. You cannot choose the inheritor for your mother; your opinions are neither welcomed nor sought.
When you go for supper at your mother’s house (especially if you do not yet have a house of your own, as in your case within the political party), you serve your dinner and leave. It is none of your business to ask your mother about the visitor in her house or when they will leave. That is your mother’s visitor. It does not matter if you have a personal issue with the visitor or if they insulted you at a chang’aa den—they are in your mother’s house. And whoever sleeps in your mother’s house is your father, regardless of your feelings toward them.
President William Ruto is a visitor in your mother’s house (ODM). Your opinion against him does not matter.
3. JATIJWA – OUR SERVANT
I have heard you insinuate that you are only answerable to H.E. the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, whom you diligently serve. You refer to him as “my party leader,” “my mentor,” and “my boss.” That is fine, but kindly broaden your perspective.
A servant in a home serves not only the employer but every member of the family, even if they do not call them “boss.” That is how your wife and children regard your maid, shamba boy, or any other servant in your house, Hon. Senator.
Many servants have lost their jobs not because they offended the real boss but because they believed they had only one boss to be loyal to. When the children of your boss discuss you, they do not say, “this your servant,” but rather, “this our servant.” Even the youngest member of the household will gossip about you, saying, “our new driver is very polite and smart.”
Learn this, Omwami. You are not only serving Raila but also his family—both biological and political. Family ties are strong and can make or break you. King Herod did not wish John the Baptist dead, but his bedmate did, and her wishes carried the day. A junior family member may one day ask for your head on a platter.
4. MOGIK – FINALLY
Do not be rigid. Remember Shariff Nassir’s famous words: “bendera hufuata upepo” (the flag follows the wind) and “siasa ni tanga, si nanga” (politics is a sail, not an anchor). In my community, we say, “siasa jaringo ngalma, range maber”—politics is dynamic; watch it keenly.
A dog that has two homes has no benefit to its owner. Reflect on this, Omwami.
With tremendous respect and no love lost, I submit this message to you, my senior.
Thank you, Omwami and my friend. Long live the Secretary General of the largest political party south of the Sahara and north of the Limpopo River.
Yours sincerely,
Salim Odeny
Kenyan Lawyer and ODM Activist
