The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) has extended conservatory orders stopping the removal of Edwin Sifuna as Secretary General of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
The move paves the way for a substantive hearing scheduled for March 12, 2026.
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The extension followed a request by Sifuna’s legal team urging the tribunal to preserve the current position until the case is fully heard and determined.
“Hearing by way of highlighting of submissions will be held on March 12, 2026, at 10 am,” the tribunal directed.
Sifuna moved to the tribunal seeking urgent intervention after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) resolved to remove him from his position. He asked the tribunal to treat the matter as urgent and hear it ex parte, arguing that the decision was reached without affording him an opportunity to defend himself.
In his application, Sifuna sought orders suspending the implementation of the NEC resolution and barring both the party and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties from gazetting the decision.
However, ODM has challenged his application, arguing that he bypassed the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (IDRM) before seeking legal redress.
The party maintains that the NEC’s decision was part of a constitutionally grounded internal process conducted in line with ODM’s constitution and principles of fair administrative action.
In its submissions, ODM stated that before issuing a formal notice under Article 74(3) and activating its structured IDRM process, Sifuna sought court intervention and secured conservatory orders, effectively halting proceedings that were still at an early stage.
ODM further cited Section 40(2) of the Political Parties Act, arguing that Sifuna was obligated to exhaust internal remedies before approaching the tribunal.
“The doctrine of exhaustion requires parties to first pursue available internal mechanisms before turning to the courts. Consequently, this Honourable Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to hear this matter,” ODM said in its response.
The party urged the tribunal to dismiss the complaint for want of jurisdiction.
Through NEC Secretary for Special Interest Groups Halima Daro, ODM confirmed that a preliminary objection had been filed, seeking to have the case struck out with costs.
In its response dated February 21, 2026, the party indicated that the process to remove Sifuna stemmed from concerns over how he communicated the party’s position on several matters, which it says resulted in varied interpretations of its stance.
