Edwin Sifuna did not just open an office on Friday. He named a whole team — and then told the room, in terms, that the team is not final.

At the Linda Mwananchi headquarters launch in Lavington, Nairobi, on 30 October 2026, Sifuna proposed himself as party leader, with three deputy party leaders: Kawira Mwangaza as first deputy, Patrick Makau as second, and Faith Odhiambo as third. A fourth deputy slot, reserved for the Coast, was left open for consultations, including with Ali Mbogo.

The other proposed names, as reported by People Daily, Nation, Capital FM and Eastleigh Voice from the launch, were: Godfrey Osotsi as chairperson, with Reuben Ndolo as deputy chair; Caroli Omondi as secretary-general, with Pauline Njoroge as deputy; Richard Onyonka as national treasurer, with Abigael Gikonyo as deputy treasurer; George Natembeya as chair of the board of trustees and head of the presidential campaign, with Faith Odhiambo also named in a campaign deputy role; Kari Karani as organising secretary, with Oundo Mudenyo as deputy; Boni Khalwale for political affairs; and Wanami Wamboka for public policy. Omondi declared at the launch that the movement had become a political party, the Linda Mwananchi Movement Party, with Sifuna as its leader.

Read that list the way Sifuna framed it. People Daily reported him saying, "This team is not final." Every name above was proposed, to be presented to delegates at the National Delegates Convention on 13 November 2026 for ratification. Until that convention, no name on it is final or elected. That distinction matters, because an alleged leadership list shared by presidential aide Dennis Itumbi on 29 October — before the launch — matches several of these names. The Itumbi list was alleged, not an announcement, and it is not used here as proof of anything. The names above are Sifuna's own proposals from the launch itself.

Mwangaza's move was the sharpest personal story of the day. Sifuna announced she had agreed to leave the United Progressive Movement and join as deputy leader, with the formal transition still to follow the necessary processes.

The room was not a one-man show. Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka, Eugene Wamalwa, George Natembeya, former Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and Tim Wanyonyi were all confirmed present by multiple outlets. That attendance is not a coalition agreement, and it is not an endorsement of Sifuna's presidential ambitions — Radio Generation made that caveat explicitly. Martha Karua did not attend, according to the reports found; she posted congratulations on X and called for unity.

Two moments from inside the room tell you where the tensions sit. Sections of the crowd chanted "Sifuna! Sifuna!" and "President Sifuna" during Kalonzo Musyoka's speech, Kalonzo paused, and Sifuna intervened asking supporters to respect guests and let Kalonzo finish. Natembeya then urged tolerance and warned opponents could exploit divisions. And Gachagua, in his speech, said he wants to be President himself, that if the opposition settles on Kalonzo he and his supporters will support him unconditionally, and that if Sifuna is picked he will himself take over and lead the presidential campaign from Natembeya.

Sifuna also announced the county rollout: county offices starting with Kwale on Saturday 31 October, and 47 offices in all counties by the end of November, according to Capital FM. He claimed county chairpersons from 38 counties, many formerly ODM. That claim is Sifuna's, not independently verified, and no venue, town or start time for Kwale was found in the reports checked.

On policy, Capital FM, Eastleigh Voice, Citizen Digital and Radio Generation reported pledges including cutting government spending within the first 100 days and removing taxes on fuel and electricity and scrapping the Housing Levy. Do not settle the figure from those reports alone: Citizen Digital reported "KSh 500 million" while other reporting said KSh 500 billion for the same pledge, and no budget breakdown was given in any report found. The discrepancy is flagged, not resolved, here.

What we could not verify: the full final leadership list is, by Sifuna's own framing, still to be ratified on 13 November; the treasurer position carries a conflict — majority reporting supports Onyonka, while one People Daily article alone proposed Senator Fokis Nyong'o for it, and that is unresolved; no official ODM statement on 30 October responding to the launch or to Wanyonyi's move was found; no outcome or number for today's aspirant registration deadline was found; and no verbatim launch-speech transcript was recovered. Those will be added when confirmed, not guessed.

Sources:

- People Daily, 30 Oct 2026, 12:47 EAT: https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/sifuna-unveils-linda-mwananchi-movement-leadership-structure-as-natembeya-osotsi-get-key-posts

- People Daily, 30 Oct 2026, 16:26 EAT: https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/matiangi-ally-onyonka-lands-top-position-in-sifunas-linda-mwananchi

- People Daily, 30 Oct 2026, 14:00 EAT: https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/natembeya-urges-tolerance-after-crowd-boos-at-kalonzo-at-linda-mwananchi-movement-headquarters-launch

- People Daily, 30 Oct 2026, 15:38 EAT: https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/gachagua-offers-to-replace-natembeya-as-presidential-campaign-director-if-sifuna-is-picked-to-lead-coalition

- Eastleigh Voice, 30 Oct 2026, 12:26 EAT: https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/politics/418026/sifuna-names-mwangaza-natembeya-to-key-roles-in-linda-mwananchi-movement

- Capital FM, 30 Oct 2026, 13:24 EAT

- Citizen Digital, 30 Oct 2026: https://citizen.digital/article/sifuna-pledges-to-scrap-ruto-taxes-cut-ksh500m-from-budget-within-first-100-days-in-office-n393038