A voter who donated Sh55 towards Senator Edwin Sifuna’s presidential bid has moved to court seeking orders to compel the ODM Secretary-General to vie for President in 2027 instead of abandoning the race for a “lower” position or deputising Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
Alan Masakhalia, who filed a constitutional petition at the High Court in Nairobi, argues that he contributed to Sifuna’s presidential project and that the Senator should not abandon the ambitions that attracted financial support from Kenyans. He is also seeking orders requiring Sifuna to account for the money raised through the Linda Mwananchi movement.
Masakhalia says he personally contributed Sh55 through Paybill number 3033049 after responding to a public fundraising appeal associated with Sifuna’s political project. He states that his contribution was not a private gift but was made towards Sifuna’s presidential campaign kitty.
“I did not make the contribution as a private gift to the 1st Respondent for his personal use. Neither was I responding to a medical or educational fundraiser, my contribution was clearly towards Hon. Sifuna’s Presidential Campaign kitty,” he states in his verifying affidavit.
The petitioner claims that Sifuna publicly promoted Linda Mwananchi as a citizens-driven political project and that the movement was associated with his potential candidature for the presidency in the 2027 General Election.
He says the fundraising attracted contributions from thousands of Kenyans, including small donations collected in buckets at rural markets such as Naitiri, Butula, Kakamega and Kabuchai. He also cites publicly reported figures indicating that 9,419 people contributed approximately Sh519,144 on the first day of the exercise.
According to the petition, the amount raised increased to approximately Sh2.21 million within 36 hours of the fundraising exercise. Masakhalia’s case is that citizens who contributed money towards the project acquired an interest in knowing how the funds would be used and what would happen to them if Sifuna abandoned his presidential ambitions.
He refers to public statements attributed to Sifuna in which the Senator said he would not be an obstacle to opposition unity and could support candidates including former Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, Kalonzo Musyoka or former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The petitioner argues that such a decision would raise questions about the purpose for which the money was collected. “Can Sifuna collect money from the public in the name of his candidacy only to later abandon the quest? can he legally collect these funds only to later divert and endorse some other candidate?” he asks in the petition.
Masakhalia says his complaint is not that Sifuna should be deprived of his constitutional freedom to make political choices. Instead, he wants the court to determine whether the Senator has legal obligations concerning the funds solicited from citizens for a publicly represented political project.
“The exercise of political freedom does not confer a licence to disregard statutory campaign-finance requirements, accounting obligations, representations concerning the purpose of funds or the constitutional principles of transparency, accountability and participation,” he states.
The petitioner is seeking declarations that citizens who contributed to the political project acquired enforceable constitutional and statutory interests in the proper use, accounting and disclosure of their contributions.
He also wants the court to determine whether abandoning or materially altering the political project after receiving the funds could give rise to legal consequences.
Among the interim orders sought is an injunction restraining Sifuna and the Linda Mwananchi Movement from disposing of, transferring, diverting or dissipating funds raised through Paybill number 3033049, or any replacement fundraising mechanism for the same project, for purposes inconsistent with the representations made to contributors.
Masakhalia is also seeking orders compelling Sifuna and the movement to preserve all M-Pesa, banking, accounting, expenditure and communication records relating to the fundraising. He wants the respondents to disclose the total amount raised, the accounts holding the money, expenditure incurred, recipients of payments and the current balance.
The petitioner has asked the court to determine whether funds raised specifically for Sifuna’s presidential project may be transferred to another candidate or political project if he elects not to proceed with his presidential bid.
He further seeks an order compelling the respondents to render a full and verified account of the money raised and the expenditure incurred. The petition invokes Articles 10, 22, 23, 38, 81, 88 and 259 of the Constitution, alongside the Election Campaign Financing Act, 2013, and the Political Parties Act, 2011.
Masakhalia has expressly stated that he is not asking the court to dictate Sifuna’s political beliefs or compel him to hold a political opinion against his will. He argues that the court should instead establish the legal consequences of soliciting and receiving citizens’ money for a publicly promoted political project.
The petition does not allege criminal fraud, stating that any alleged unlawful conduct would have to be established by competent evidence.
