By REUBEN OLITA
July 25, 2026| The Busia gubernatorial race is heating up after Eng. Vincent Sidai (pictured) finally broke his long silence, declaring his allegiance to Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi movement—a move set to reshape the county’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 General Election.
In a poster circulated by his communication team, Sidai welcomed supporters to the movement with the words, “Karibu Ingoo Linda Mwananchi. Sisi ndiyo Sifuna.” The announcement ends months of public non-committal from the civil engineer-turned-politician, who previously belonged to the dissolved Amani National Congress (ANC) party under Musalia Mudavadi before it merged into UDA.
His decision to align with Sifuna’s camp now places him firmly in the opposition-leaning space, intensifying competition for the county’s top seat. The Linda Mwananchi team, led by Senator Sifuna, is currently on a nationwide mobilisation drive, with political engagements scheduled in Trans Nzoia on Saturday before heading to Bungoma County on Sunday, and Sidai’s entry into the fold is expected to give the movement a significant foothold in Busia.
Sidai’s declaration now clarifies a three-way contest for the Busia governorship, pitting incumbent Governor Paul Otuoma, who is associated with the opposition coalition linked to Oburu Odinga, against Principal Administrative Secretary Arthur Amug Osiya, who is seeking the seat on the UDA ticket, and Sidai himself, now flying the Linda Mwananchi flag.
A civil engineer by profession, Sidai has built his political profile as a technocrat focused on development rather than career politics, having first contested the Busia governorship in 2013, losing to former Governor Sospeter Ojaamong. Following that election, he served as General Manager for Infrastructure Development at the Kenya Ports Authority, having previously worked at Bamburi Cement and served on the board of the National Water Conservation and Pipeline Corporatio.
Throughout his political career, Sidai has consistently campaigned on an agenda centred on infrastructure-led development, professional management of county resources, youth employment, agriculture value addition, cross-border trade, and improved health and education services, while also positioning himself as a unifier seeking to bring together all communities in Busia and discourage ethnic politics.
Sidai’s decision to publicly associate with the Linda Mwananchi movement marks his clearest political declaration yet and is likely to intensify competition for the Busia governorship as political alignments continue to take shape across the country. His move signals that the opposition is making deliberate inroads into counties previously considered UDA strongholds, and with the movement’s nationwide mobilisation gaining momentum, all eyes will now be on how the incumbent and the UDA candidate respond to this new political reality in Busia.