Former Cabinet Secretary and presidential advisor Moses Kuria has criticised the joint Parliamentary Group Meeting between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) lawmakers held on Monday, August 18, 2025, in Karen, dismissing it as a betrayal of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) process.

Moses Kuria, who has been vocal about the direction of Kenya’s bipartisan engagements, through his X account on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, said he had hoped the NADCO report would eventually pave the way for a referendum, possibly introduced as the “7th ballot” in the 2027 general elections.

According to him, this would have been a bold step toward resolving Kenya’s recurring political crises.

“I was clinging to the hope that the NADCO process will culminate in a referendum, most likely as the 7th ballot during the 2027 General Elections,” Kuria stated. “We have a malignant tumour in our body politic which we keep trying to heal through anaesthesia such as Handshake, broad-based arrangements, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.”

Transactional arrangement

The former Trade CS argued that Monday’s session, chaired jointly by President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga, had squandered what he termed a “promising national moment.”

Instead, he likened it to a transactional arrangement that favoured ODM without due consultation of other political stakeholders within both Azimio la Umoja and Kenya Kwanza coalitions.

“Sadly, what I saw yesterday was an otherwise promising national moment being reduced to a dowry paid by UDA to ODM,” Kuria stated. “Not even other constituent parties in both Azimio and Kenya Kwanza were consulted.”

Drawing parallels to the failed Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), Kuria warned that the NADCO process risks ending in futility if it continues along the same path.

“We are treading on a trodden path littered with corpses like BBI. The last chapter of NADCO will be a replica of BBI,” he cautioned.

Kuria’s criticism comes amid both optimism and scepticism over the renewed collaboration between the ruling party and the opposition. While proponents of the Karen meeting hailed it as a historic step toward political stability, Kuria sees it as another political deal that prioritises elite interests over meaningful constitutional reform.