Sifuna’s Fight to Stay as ODM Secretary-General Hit by Tribunal

A legal challenge by Edwin Sifuna over his removal as Secretary-General of Orange Democratic Movement has been struck out after the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruled it could not hear the matter.

The decision, delivered on Thursday, 26 March by Acting Chairperson Gad Gathu, found that the case had been prematurely filed, effectively halting Sifuna’s attempt to contest his ouster through the tribunal.

In its determination, the bench emphasized that Sifuna failed to exhaust internal party mechanisms before seeking legal intervention, a requirement anchored in statutory law governing political party disputes.

“The Tribunal therefore finds that it does not have powers to exempt a dispute from the requirement to attempt IDRM and thus cannot assume jurisdiction to hear and determine this dispute under the provisions of Section 40, Subsection 2 of the Political Parties Act,” Gathu declared.

Tribunal Faults Failure to Use Internal Channels

Sifuna, represented by lawyer Isaac Okero, had asked the tribunal to waive the requirement to first pursue the party’s Internal Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (IDRM).

His legal team advanced several arguments, including claims that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) removed him without notice and publicly announced the decision.

He further argued that the tribunal was the only forum that could deliver urgent relief, especially in the form of injunctions to prevent the implementation of the decision.

However, the tribunal rejected the arguments and ruled that the arguments did not pass the legal test to bypass internal procedures.

“Even where a party alleges that the IDRM organ in a political party is, for example, non-existent or fraught with conflict of interest, it would be prudent for a party in dispute with a political party to notify the political party of their unavailability or of a conflict of interest,” the bench ruled.

The panel underscored that ODM’s constitution provides a structured dispute resolution framework, including arbitration pathways, which must be pursued before escalating matters externally.

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How ODM’s Constitution Undermines Sifuna’s Case

From its rulings, the tribunal identified that there are provisions within ODM’s constitution that allow for dispute resolution within the party.

This is because ODM has an effective and accessible dispute resolution mechanism through Article 88 of its constitution.

From this, the tribunal argued that this undermined Sifuna’s argument that there was no effective internal dispute resolution mechanism within ODM.

It was further identified that even where there is an issue with internal organs of the party, there is still a process that must be followed.

Partial Relief Granted Amid Dismissal

Despite dismissing the case, the tribunal issued a limited directive that temporarily shields Sifuna from immediate administrative removal.

“This tribunal retains inherent jurisdiction to meet the ends of justice and prevent abuse of its process,” the bench stated.

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It added: “As a show of good faith, the removal of the complainant as Secretary General of the First Respondent should not be filed with the Second Respondent pending the attempt at IDRM and without prejudice to the First Respondent’s right to institute or conduct disciplinary proceedings in strict compliance with its constitution and all applicable laws.”

This order effectively pauses any formal communication of his removal to the Registrar of Political Parties until internal mechanisms are pursued.

NEC Decision Not Final, Tribunal Notes

The tribunal also relied on ODM’s own submissions in reaching its conclusion, particularly an affidavit indicating that the February 11 NEC meeting in Mombasa did not amount to a final decision.

According to the party, the resolution was intended to initiate internal dispute processes rather than conclusively remove Sifuna from office.

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