Chaos nearly erupted at Narok Town on Sunday during Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi rally when a teargas canister was hurled into a crowd of supporters, forcing a temporary halt to the proceedings. Despite the sudden disruption, Sifuna and the rally participants maintained their composure, with the senator urging calm and resilience as smoke filled the air.
Sifuna had earlier attended a church service at Covenant Church International (CCI) Ntulele before proceeding to the rally alongside other dignitaries. Signs of tension had emerged hours before the event, with police reportedly ordering the removal of speakers ahead of the gathering.
In footage obtained by local outlets, #Sifuna and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino can be seen confronting the teargas while encouraging supporters to stay put. Rally-goers responded with chants of defiance, including anti-government slogans such as “wantam.”
“They have started throwing teargas at us, but we are going nowhere. We are not going to run away,” one supporter shouted amid the commotion.
After a brief interruption, the leaders continued engaging the crowd under heavy smoke and rainy conditions. The Linda Mwananchi rally is now set to move to Nairobi County next week to face the Linda Ground faction during the party’s planned national delegates convention (NDC).
Sifuna emphasized that the public will ultimately decide which meetings to attend. The faction has already announced a boycott of the NDC, citing procedural irregularities and questioning the convention’s legitimacy. “It is going to be a very important week for us as ODM. It is good that they have said that the meeting will be in Nairobi… we will meet eye to eye,” Sifuna said during Sunday’s church service,