When you see Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna criticizing the government, cheering ODM leader Raila Odinga, and trouncing his political opponents, you may think it is something he has done all his life.
However, in an exclusive interview with Willis Raburu, the prominent lawyer bared his soul, revealing the remarkable struggles that paved his path to becoming Nairobi’s senator.
From a jobless stint of 19 months to becoming one of the most vocal legislators in the country, this is his journey as told by WoK:
Sifuna’s odyssey began in 2008 when he graduated from Nairobi University with a law degree. However, his joy was tainted by the political turmoil that engulfed Kenya during the 2008 post-election violence.
The turbulence in the country had dire consequences for his employment prospects, leaving him jobless for a grueling 19 months. “Lawyers were not in demand at the time,” he said.
During this period, he resided in a modest bedsitter in Nairobi’s South B, with rent arrears piling up to six months’ worth. However, he was lucky to have an accommodating landlord.
His fortunes turned when he landed a job as a lawyer for the bread company Supa Loaf at a salary of sh 40 000. Naturally, his first paycheck was used to clear his rent arrears.
The ascent continued as he landed another job at an advertising company. “The job was good because they treated me as a manager from the first day,” Sifuna recalled.
He was in charge of the company’s legal affairs, and he relished a salary of sh 150,000, complete with a company car. This new opportunity allowed him to upgrade to a three-bedroom house.
The downside to this new job was pressure from his boss, whom the vocal legislator described as a ‘boss from hell’. “He would sometimes call and wake me in the middle of the night to inform me of something that needed to be done,” he said.
By 2013, Sifuna was earning a respectable 400,000 Kenyan shillings per month, but the toll on his mental health became too great.
He made the audacious decision to resign and set up his own law firm. “I gave myself a target that if I could only make 50,000 shillings per month, that was enough to sustain me,” Sifuna recounted.
It was then that he decided to vie for a political seat in his home in Kakamega. However, he was denied a ticket by ODM. Crushed and financially strained after party nominations, he returned to Nairobi.
