MOU: What Ruto's UDA and Raila's ODM agreed
The MOU was signed on Friday, March 7, 2025, at KICC.
1mon agoHillary BettInfographics
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has defended the move to join President William Ruto's government.
The former Prime Minister said that ODM did not join the government to betray Kenyans.
In March, Ruto and the former Prime Minister officially signed a political pact to work together.
The Kenya Kwanza-ODM Framework Agreement was signed in an event that was attended by Members of Parliament allied to the two leaders.
Speaking on Saturday in Mombasa, Raila said the party did a patriotic thing to unite Kenyans from all walks of life.
"Sisi tunasema hatujaingia kwa harusi hii na serikali ili kusaliti Wakenya, sisi tumefanya kitu ya muhimu kushinda wabinafsi. Wakenya waungane pamoja, wafanye kazi," Raila said during the celebration of Mombasa Eid Baraza.
Loosely translates to: We say our political marriage with the government is not a move to betray Kenyans. We have done an important thing which is not selfish. Kenyans should unite and work.
The former Prime Minister said that in the coming general elections, ODM will also participate in the elections.
He, however, was not clear if the party will front a presidential candidate to represent in the 2027 general election.
He called on members of the ODM party to exercise peace and civilisation during the upcoming ODM grassroots election.
Raila said that the members should support each other to ensure the success of the grassroots elections.
The working arrangements saw both UDA and ODM party share political infrastructure on matters of national interest.
They also deployed their best experts for consultations on matters concerning the governance of the country.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed aimed to address Kenya's social, economic, and political challenges in 2025.
Ruto and Raila emphasised that the right to protest is a constitutional right that all Kenyans must be able to enjoy without hindrance.
As part of the agreement, the leaders also pledged to compensate victims of past protests. “The derogation of rights to peaceful assembly and protests remains one of the most shameful realities on the excesses of Kenya’s law and order responses since independence,” the document read in part.
