ODM party leader Raila Odinga has revealed that former president Uhuru Kenyatta was the mastermind behind the broad-based government.
In an interview with NTV on Sunday July 20, Odinga revealed that Kenyatta, who was in the US at the time, had called him to encourage him to initiate talks with the Head of State in order to de-escalate the political tension the country was experiencing amid the anti-finance bill protests last year.
According to Odinga, the political tension in the country led the president to look for him and engage in discussions.
“In that charged environment, one of my colleagues, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, called me. He was in the US and suggested that although he knows I don’t want to talk to Ruto, in the interest of the country, I need to find a way of talking to him,” Odinga said.
“I did not even have to look for Ruto; he asked to come and see me and we agreed that we should talk,” Odinga said.
According to Odinga, despite him and his opposition colleagues in Azimio strongly opposing the idea of joining forces with the government, his ODM party deemed it appropriate to send 'experts' to the cabinet who would help resolve the country's recurring economic and social issues.
The ODM-afiliated experts include Hassan Joho, Wycliffe Oparanya, Opiyo Wandayi, John Mbadi, and Beatrice Askul, who were named Cabinet Secretaries.
“We tried to consult among ourselves as Azimio if we could find a way of participating in a broad-based government. I myself was against it, and my other colleagues also, but then eventually the group within my party felt that the stalemate we had required that some experts who are not part of the Kenya Kwanza regime can go into government and see how they can help steady the ship and come up with new ideas to deal with issues in contention,”
Earlier this year, in March, the former prime Minister and the president penned a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would see the ODM and the ruling party, UDA, work together.
2027 Politics
Key agreements reached between the two leaders are the full implementation of the NADCO report, addressing youth unemployment, and the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule.
"We will use this platform to revisit the constitutional provisions on leadership and integrity, graft, and fundamental rights such as free speech, protests, and assembly, as well as the preservation of the rule of law," Odinga said.
He, however, clarified that the ongoing political collaboration with the government is temporary and only intended to help stabilise the country during a period of economic and social uncertainty.
Despite Odinga assuring that he will continue supporting President William Ruto until the upcoming 2027 general polls, the veteran politician stressed that his partnership with the administration does not extend to the 2027 succession plan.
“We have said that we are in the broad-based government until 2027. We did not say that we are going to work with UDA beyond 2027. Those are issues that we will discuss at the appropriate time, and the decision will be made by party members, not Raila Odinga alone,” Odinga said.
