Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has opened up about a past conversation with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, highlighting the difficult choices lawmakers face between defending citizens and staying comfortable under the current government.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive on Wednesday night, Maina said her interactions with Sifuna have been limited.
However, she recounted a remark the senator once made regarding the pressures MPs face in Parliament.
“I don’t know Sifuna very well and we’ve had very minimal interactions but one day he told me, there are two things in this Parliament. If you’re eating you shut up and turn a blind eye to everything, but if you will defend the people, you can be certain that you will not make any money in this regime,” Maina said.
She clarified that Sifuna’s warning referred to MPs either standing up for Kenyans or siding with the regime by keeping quiet and enjoying government perks.
Her remarks come as Edwin Sifuna has intensified criticism of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The Nairobi senator has in recent months positioned himself as one of the most vocal leaders challenging the government’s policies and political direction.
Sifuna has also been leading the Linda Mwananchi rallies, an emerging opposition faction that opposes ODM’s perceived cooperation with President William Ruto’s administration.
The faction is critical of the reported pre-coalition agreement between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Maina did not give further details on the context of Sifuna’s remarks but framed them as a reflection of the broader tension between political loyalty and public service in the current Parliament.