KISUMU, KENYA — Kisumu County Woman Representative Honorable Ruth Odinga has forcefully pushed back against calls for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to unconditionally support President William Ruto’s 2027 re-election bid, insisting that any political cooperation must strictly be governed by a legally binding agreement.
Odinga’s hard-hitting statement follows remarks attributed to Interior Cabinet Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo, who suggested that the Luo community and ODM supporters should trust President Ruto and back his government without demanding a pre-election pact.
Taking to her social media page, the legislator expressed grave concerns over PS Omollo’s sentiments, labeling the timing and premise of the remarks as troubling and framed in bad faith.
“I reject, in the strongest terms, any attempt to present ODM as a Luo party, and therefore to suggest that the Luo are the ones party to such an agreement,” Ruth Odinga declared. “Let it be made clear that ODM is a national political party with representation across the counties.”
She emphasized that while Nyanza is one of ODM’s bases, the party enjoys deep national rootedness in Western, Coast, Turkana, and Kisii Nyanza. She cautioned political actors against reducing ODM to a regional or tribal vehicle, warning that doing so undermines its national mandate and core values.
Highlighting Kenya’s fraught history with unfulfilled political promises, Odinga reminded the public that informal “gentlemen’s agreements” and unbacked Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have repeatedly plunged the country into crisis. She pointed to findings from the Waki Commission into the 2007/2008 post-election violence, which traced national unrest back to broken political arrangements—most notably the unmet 2002 NARC MoU.
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“MoUs have become such a challenge in Kenyan politics that they are jokingly referred to as ‘memoranda without implementation,’” she noted, pointing out that political leaders in Central and Western Kenya are currently voicing similar regrets over unwritten or ignored arrangements.
Odinga underscored that Parliament deliberately enacted the Political Parties Act to end the era of informal political shortcuts. Unlike non-binding MoUs, the law provides a clear framework governing coalitions, mandating explicit structures for leadership selection, coalition organs, dispute resolution, and dissolution protocols.
Drawing on the legacy of ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga, the lawmaker reiterated that while coalitions have always been a necessity in Kenya’s multiparty landscape, ODM has consistently safeguarded its identity. Throughout previous alliances—including CORD (2013), NASA (2017), and Azimio la Umoja (2022)—ODM maintained its distinct ideology and values without merging or surrendering its independence to partner parties.
Concluding her statement, Ruth Odinga made it clear that ODM will not enter into any arrangement with the ruling administration that falls short of a legally enforceable coalition pact.
“The party retains its identity and uniqueness… Anything short of that would be unacceptable to the great masses of the party,” she affirmed, setting a firm line for upcoming 2027 political realignments.
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