Edwin Watenya Sifuna has cleared what appeared to be his biggest hurdle ahead of his 2027 presidential bid. In the recent weeks, Sifuna faced frustrations arising from inability to register a vehicle that he would use to run for the country’s top seat.
But Sifuna reassured his supporters: “Wanasema ati sina chama, hii siasa tulifunzwa na Raila Odinga.”
Finally, the moment came and on 4th October 2026, it was a Sifuna moment when he announced that he would vie on The Equitable Party (TEP) ticket.
The party was founded by Dr Gilbert Shanga, an experienced statistician and entrepreneur.
Early life
Dr. Shanga comes from Vihiga County. He attended Muhudu Primary School in Vihiga county and sat for his primary school examinations in 1985 and was to join Senende High School but his parents couldn’t raise the school fees.
Unfortunately he had to pause his education for one year before he enrolled at the then newly-opened Muhudu secondary school .
But then due to various challenges that new schools face, all the students in his class transferred leaving him the lone student in form two.
Shanga would then be taken in by a relative and transferred to Kaimosi mixed secondary scholl where he sat for his secondary school examination in 1990.
He joined University of Nairobi and pursued a degree in Statistics. Then a cousin helped him move to the United States for his Masters.
Senior Statistician
After surmounting all the challenges, Gilbert Shanga is currently a senior biostatistics executive with more than 20 years of experience in research and development, clinical trials and data analysis across multiple therapeutic areas.
According to his official website, he currently serves as Director of Biostatistics at Haleon in Warren, New Jersey, a position he has held since 2021. In this role, he provides strategic and technical leadership in biostatistics, coordinates clinical study and data-management activities, oversees external vendors, mentors statisticians and contributes to regulatory and business decisions. His work spans clinical studies from development through publication, as well as real-world data and evidence.
Previously, Shanga spent nearly 16 years at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, where he rose to Manager of Biostatistics. His responsibilities included statistical leadership for clinical trials, regulatory interactions, data integrity initiatives, real-world evidence studies and FDA advisory committee preparations. He also developed statistical models, authored analysis plans and led process-improvement initiatives.
Earlier in his career, he worked as a Senior Statistician at Unilever, focusing on study design, sampling, statistical analysis and innovative data-analytical methodologies.
Shanga holds a PhD in Statistics from Kansas State University, an MBA from Montclair State University, a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Western Illinois University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Nairobi.
His professional expertise includes SAS, R, Power BI, Spotfire and other statistical software. He is also a member of the American Statistical Association and has co-authored numerous scientific publications covering clinical research, respiratory health, pain management, nicotine products, dermatology and real-world healthcare data.Source: the résumé provided by the user.