Ruto moves to ease ODM-UDA tensions, vows to protect Raila legacy

What you need to know:

• The President singled out the SGR as one of the projects he believed Mr Odinga would have been proud to see advancing.
• Dr Ruto said his administration would not seek to replace Mr Odinga, but instead preserve what he described as his national legacy.

President William Ruto has moved to ease political tensions between Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and his United Democratic Alliance (UDA), declaring that the two parties are partners in the broad-based government and promising to safeguard the legacy of the late Raila Odinga.

Speaking in Kisumu on Sunday, President Ruto said he would work with ODM to ensure that Mr Odinga’s political legacy, party and ideals continue to influence the country’s development.

“I want to assure you, as the national leader and as a student of the late Raila Odinga, that we will walk together. ODM and UDA are not competitors; they are partners in the broad-based government,” Dr Ruto said.

He said he would take responsibility for ensuring that Mr Odinga’s contribution to Kenya remained alive, portraying the former Prime Minister as a nationalist whose political vision transcended his Nyanza base.

“To honour my brother Raila Odinga, I will make it my responsibility and business to ensure that his legacy, his party and what he believed in lives on as we work together to build a nation called Kenya,” he said.

Dr Ruto spoke at the Voice of Salvation and Healing Church in Kisumu at the start of his Nyanza tour, accompanied by Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko and other leaders allied to the administration. 

Conspicuously absent was the ODM Party leader Oburu Oginga who is said to be out of the country for other engagements.

The President used the occasion to cast his relationship with Mr Odinga as one founded on a shared vision for development, citing the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), housing and job creation as some of the projects they envisioned while working together in ODM.

“I stand here in Kisumu, the city of my brother, the late Raila Amolo Odinga, who I know would have wished to be here in Kisumu today, a man that I shared a great vision for Kenya,” Dr Ruto said.

The President singled out the SGR as one of the projects he believed Mr Odinga would have been proud to see advancing.

He recalled that the railway was among the projects they identified while working together in ODM, saying its extension from Narok to Kisumu would eventually fulfil one of Mr Odinga’s signature development ambitions.

Dr Ruto also linked his housing programme to Mr Odinga’s record, describing the former Prime Minister as the “father of housing” because of his role in slum upgrading during the NARC administration.

“He was the father of housing when he started slum upgrading under the NARC administration. We have carried on that vision and I can proudly tell the people of Kenya that what the Honorable Raila Odinga and I believed in, housing is now a major development in the Republic of Kenya,” he said.

Dr Ruto said his administration would not seek to replace Mr Odinga, but would instead preserve what he described as his national legacy.

“It may not be possible, and it will never be possible, to replace the Honorable Raila Odinga, and nobody should attempt it. But we can only work together to make sure that what he believed in, his legacy, lives on and informs the future of the development of our nation,” he said.

He portrayed Mr Odinga as a nationalist who built a national party and agenda rather than one rooted in sectional interests.

“Raila Amolo Odinga was never a sectionalist. He was never in favour of sectionalism. He lived his career as a nationalist, as a Statesman. He built a party that was national. He had an agenda that was national, and he leaves behind a legacy that is national,” Dr Ruto said.

His remarks come amid efforts by the administration to consolidate the broad-based government arrangement struck with sections of the former opposition following the 2024 political realignment.

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Ms Wanga welcomed Dr Ruto to Nyanza, saying the region was witnessing major development under the broad-based government.

“Today, we are witnessing development in this region on a scale we have never seen before,” Ms Wanga said.

She took a swipe at Linda Mwananchi's team, arguing that ODM had chosen to work with the Ruto administration to secure development for the Nyanza region.

“There are people whose only job is to move from one hotel to another. Yet, they have no candidate and no policies. For us in the broad-based government, we have a candidate,” Ms Wanga said.

The Kisumu visit also gave Dr Ruto an opportunity to mark four years since he was sworn in as President. 

He noted that September 13 was significant because it marked the anniversary of his inauguration and coincided with celebrations marking 70 years of the church he was visiting.

“Today, September 13th, is also a very important day for me. A day like today, at a time like this, is when I was sworn in four years ago as the President of Kenya,” he said.

Dr Ruto used the occasion to defend his administration’s economic record, saying it had made progress despite inheriting an economy burdened by debt, high inflation, an unstable exchange rate and low foreign exchange reserves.

He said inflation had fallen, the exchange rate had stabilised and foreign exchange reserves had increased two-and-a-half times, adding that Kenya was now the fifth-largest economy in Africa.

On infrastructure, Dr Ruto said his administration had inherited stalled road projects and accumulated debts owed to contractors, but had since paid close to Sh250 billion.

He said about 6,000 kilometres of road works were under construction across the country and promised to launch some of the projects in Nyanza during his tour.

Agriculture was another area he cited as evidence of progress. He recalled that maize flour had been retailing at about Sh250 and fertiliser at about Sh7,000 four years ago, while the sugar industry was struggling.

He said the government had since reduced the cost of fertiliser to Sh2,500 and taken measures against cartels and brokers in the sugar sector.

The President also said dairy, coffee, tea and sugarcane farmers were now earning more from their produce.

On education, Dr Ruto said his administration had addressed shortages of teachers and classrooms while making changes to the Competency-Based Curriculum and university funding model.

He said nearly 100,000 teachers had been hired and 23,000 classrooms constructed, while the new funding model was intended to provide universities, TVET institutions and students with adequate resources.

Dr Ruto said the government had replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund with the Social Health Authority, which he said had expanded access to healthcare.

He claimed SHA had registered 33 million Kenyans compared with eight million under NHIF and said health facilities across the country were now receiving monthly payments under the new system.

The President’s tour takes him into a region historically associated with the opposition at a time when his administration is seeking to deepen its political presence through the broad-based government and development projects.

Dr Ruto is expected to visit Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori, where he will launch and inspect projects while meeting leaders and residents.

The government says projects worth more than Sh220 billion are being implemented across the four counties, covering roads, housing, markets, health, water and other infrastructure. 

Among the projects expected to feature prominently are the Sh1 billion Usenge Pier in Siaya, Muhuru Bay Pier in Migori, the Kabonyo-Kanyagwal aquaculture project in Kisumu and the proposed extension of the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu and Malaba.

Other priorities include completion of the Mamboleo-Miwani-Chemelil road, construction of Moi Stadium and increased funding for Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.

His tour comes after weeks of political and development engagements across the country, including visits to Kajiado, Narok, Taita Taveta, Bomet and Kericho.

Nyanza presents a different political challenge. The region remains an important opposition stronghold, while the administration is seeking to turn the broad-based government arrangement into a more durable political partnership ahead of the 2027 elections.

The President’s latest visit follows several major engagements in Kisumu this year.

On March 21, Dr Ruto launched construction of the Kisumu-Malaba SGR section at Kibos Station in Kisumu East alongside Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The Sh500 billion regional transport project, classified as Phase 2C of the SGR network, is intended to extend the railway to the Malaba border and strengthen trade links across East Africa.

On May 9, Dr Ruto attended the 120th anniversary celebrations of Maseno School, where he pledged to build 40 modern classrooms to accommodate an additional 1,600 students. Twenty of the classrooms are expected to be completed by the end of this year, allowing the school to admit an additional 800 students in January 2027.

During the current tour, Dr Ruto is also expected to chair a Cabinet meeting at Kisumu State Lodge and later meet about 10,000 leaders drawn from Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori counties.

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