Lessons for Sifuna and others from firebrands who became statesmen

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino during a church Service at  Coast PAG church, Kawangware, Nairobi, on January 25,2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro first crossed paths in Mexico City in 1955, an encounter that would catalyse one of 20th century’s most consequential revolutions. Their alliance culminated in the overthrow of Fulgencio Baptista’s regime in 1959, ushering in a new political order in Cuba. Castro emerged as prime minister and later president, a position he would hold until his death in 2008.

Guevara, meanwhile, assumed a range of senior positions, including Minister of Industry and head of the central bank, before abandoning the comforts of office to export revolution abroad. His campaigns in Congo and later Bolivia ended in failure. Captured by Bolivian forces, he was executed in 1967.