NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 29 – Senators are expected to approve sweeping changes to committee memberships that would see Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi removed from two of the House’s most powerful oversight committees in a reshuffle set to be considered for adoption by the Senate.
In a letter dated July 27, 2026, the Senate Minority Whip formally communicated the proposed changes to the Clerk of the Senate, triggering a reorganisation of both Standing and Select Committees.
If approved by the Senate, Sifuna will exit the influential County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) and instead join the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, while retaining his position in the National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations Committee.
Osotsi will similarly be removed from the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPIC) and reassigned to the Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration, while remaining a member of the Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism Committee.
The changes effectively remove the two senators from committees charged with scrutinising county government spending and the management of public resources, roles regarded as among the Senate’s most significant oversight responsibilities.
Under the proposals, Sifuna will be replaced in CPAC by Nyandarua Senator Joseph Githuku and Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo, while Osotsi’s seat in the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee will be taken over by Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma and nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian.
The reshuffle is likely to intensify political tensions within the opposition, coming amid growing divisions in the coalition over the emerging Linda Mwananchi movement.
Both Sifuna and Osotsi have recently aligned themselves with the citizen-driven political initiative, whose leaders have declared plans to field a presidential candidate in the 2027 General Election.
Their removal from the Senate’s two most influential county oversight committees is expected to fuel speculation that the changes are linked to the ongoing realignment within the opposition, although the Minority leadership has not publicly stated the reasons behind the reshuffle.
The committee changes also come just days after Sifuna was removed as the Senate Deputy Minority Leader in another shake-up of the opposition leadership.
His latest reassignment further diminishes his influence within the Senate hierarchy, even as he has emerged as one of the most vocal champions of the Linda Mwananchi movement, openly signalling that the outfit is considering fielding its own presidential candidate in 2027.
The back-to-back changes are likely to be interpreted as part of the wider political contest unfolding within the opposition ahead of the next General Election.
The reshuffle also affects several Standing Committees.
Siaya Senator Moses Kajwang’ is proposed to leave the Energy Committee and move to the Information, Communication and Technology Committee, where he will serve alongside nominated Senator Crystal Asige.
Beatrice Ogola will move from the Agriculture Committee to Energy, while nominated Senator Shakila Abdalla Mohamed is set to replace Joseph Githuku in the Health Committee.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua is proposed to join the Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism Committee, replacing Hamida Kibwana, who would in turn move to the Roads, Transportation and Housing Committee.
The Senate Business Committee, in a paper tabled before members, noted that the proposed changes raise one procedural issue concerning nominated Senator Crystal Asige.
The committee observed that Asige would, if the recommendations are adopted as currently drafted, serve on more than two Standing Committees, contrary to Standing Order 198(3), which limits senators to two Standing Committees unless the Senate resolves otherwise on the recommendation of the Senate Business Committee and for reasons that must be stated.
According to the committee, the Minority Whip’s letter did not provide reasons for exempting Asige from the rule, meaning the matter will require consideration before the reshuffle can be fully approved.
