Presidential Revelation

NAIROBI, KENYA – In a disclosure that peels back the curtain on the high-stakes negotiations that reshaped Kenya's government, President William Ruto has revealed the central role played by new Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader, Dr. Oburu Oginga, in the formation of the current power-sharing agreement. Speaking at the ODM Founders' Dinner in Mombasa on Saturday, November 15, 2025, the Head of State asserted that Senator Oginga personally presented him with a list of ministries the opposition party sought to control under the "broad-based government" arrangement.

"On every matter that I discussed with Raila Odinga, if there was to be a second person, it was Oburu Oginga," President Ruto told the audience. He recounted that the late former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, had designated his elder brother as his most trusted confidant in all substantive talks. "It was Oburu Odinga who came and told me, 'This is the list of the ministries we are thinking about,' and it was a fairly long list," the President stated on Saturday evening.

From Public Stalemate to Private Deal

The President's statement sheds new light on the nature of the pact between the government and the opposition, suggesting that crucial decisions were made through a direct, high-level channel, away from the more public, and often stalled, bipartisan committee talks of 2023. Those formal talks frequently hit dead ends over procedural issues and the scope of the agenda. The revelation points to a parallel process of negotiation that ultimately proved more decisive.

This cooperation was formalized in a "broad-based-government agreement" in March 2025. The groundwork was laid earlier, following widespread anti-tax protests in 2024 which prompted President Ruto to dismiss his inaugural Cabinet in July 2024 and subsequently appoint several ODM members to key positions.

Deepening Fissures Within ODM

While President Ruto's remarks were delivered in a tone of goodwill towards Dr. Oginga's new leadership, they land in the middle of a deeply fractured ODM. The party is currently grappling with an existential crisis over its identity and future direction, split between those who support the cooperation and a faction demanding a return to a robust opposition role.

This latter group, which includes veterans like Siaya Governor James Orengo, has openly criticized the pact. "I dare say, Ruto needs ODM; it's not ODM that needs Ruto... I don't know why this party is becoming a party of cowards," Orengo stated at a party youth forum on November 14, 2025.

The fault lines extend into the Odinga family itself. EALA Member of Parliament Winnie Odinga, daughter of the late Raila Odinga, has publicly questioned the current leadership's ability to manage the complex relationship with the government. During the party's 20th-anniversary celebrations, she called for a National Delegates Conference (NDC) to allow members to choose who should lead the party's engagement with Kenya Kwanza. "That relationship is complicated... are they capable of managing that relationship? That is a question for the people to answer," she stated on November 15, 2025.

A New Leader's Trial by Fire

Dr. Oburu Oginga, who was formally installed as the new party leader following his brother's death, has sought to project an image of strength and continuity amidst the turmoil. He has repeatedly assured party faithful that ODM will maintain its independence and will not be subsumed by the ruling coalition. "We shall not agree to be swallowed," Dr. Oginga stated at a National Governing Council meeting on November 13, 2025. He has also committed the party to the broad-based government pact until the 2027 general election.

In response to his niece's challenge, Dr. Oginga adopted a conciliatory but firm tone, stating he would discuss the matter with her privately at home while vowing to lead with the same resolve as his predecessor. "I have taken the reins of power, and I won't fear anything, and I will purpose to achieve all that Raila envisioned," he affirmed.

President Ruto's timely disclosure serves multiple political ends: it publicly legitimizes Dr. Oginga's authority by highlighting his instrumental role in the negotiations, reinforces the durability of the government-opposition pact, and simultaneously exposes the deep-seated collaboration that fuels internal dissent within ODM. The revelation ensures that as ODM navigates its post-Raila era, it must do so in the full glare of a public now aware of just how intertwined its leadership has become with the government it was once sworn to oppose.