Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Oburu Oginga has dismissed claims that the March 7, 2026, deadline signalled the end of the broad-based government arrangement between the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and ODM.

Speaking during a joint ODM–UDA Parliamentary Group meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Oburu said the date only marked the first anniversary of the signing of the 10-point agenda agreed upon between President William Ruto and the late ODM leader Raila Odinga.

“This is not a small feat. Mr. President, the country has been waiting for this,” Oburu said.

He said many Kenyans had misunderstood the purpose of the date, arguing that the 10-point agenda was meant to strengthen the broad-based arrangement rather than create it.

“The country has been waiting for this because we are in this broad-based government, but there are people who thought that this report is the one which formed the foundation for establishing the broad-based government,” he said.

According to Oburu, the political arrangement between the two sides began before the agreement on the reform agenda.

“Mr. President, I want to inform the country that the broad-based government started long before the 10-point agenda,” he said. “Therefore, the broad-based arrangement cannot depend on the 10-point agenda. The 10-point agenda was meant to strengthen the broad-based arrangement.”

March 7 not deadline

The ODM leader said March 7, 2026, had been set as the date for presenting a progress report on the reforms, not the conclusion of the political cooperation between the two sides.

“Mr. President, the 7th of March, which was limited as the date for making the report, was not the end of the broad-based arrangement. The broad-based arrangement goes up to 2027,” he said.

He added that the date coincided with the anniversary of the signing of the reform framework.

“The 27th of March was marking the beginning of the day when this 10-point agenda was signed. It was an anniversary. It was to celebrate that anniversary. It was also to give us the interim report on the progress of implementation,” Oburu said.

He argued that the reforms contained in the agreement are long-term and cannot end within a year.

“As you can see, the 10-point agenda which we have been taken through is something which cannot end. It is something which will continue from today, it will continue into 2027, and it will go around because it is life,” he said.

“Most of these things which are contained here concern the livelihoods, the daily livelihoods of Kenyans.”

Internal divisions

The remarks come amid a growing dispute within ODM over the interpretation of the reform agreement signed on March 7, 2025, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.

Some leaders allied to the party’s reformist wing argue that the government has failed to fully implement the commitments under the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) framework that led to the agreement.

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi has been among the most vocal leaders pushing for the implementation of the reforms. In December 2025, he claimed his life was in danger because of his stance.

“I am being threatened for pushing the implementation of the 10-point agenda,” Osotsi said at the time.

The senator has also criticised what he describes as attempts to downplay the agreement’s timelines, maintaining that the commitments were part of reforms demanded by Kenyans during protests that pushed for governance and economic changes.

The disagreement has exposed divisions within ODM as the party debates its future political direction ahead of the 2027 general election.

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the reformist faction within the party announced plans to release an independent report assessing the implementation of the 10-point agenda agreed upon between the late party leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto.

In a Facebook statement, ODM Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi said the progressive wing operating under the Linda Mwananchi platform would publish a People’s Report on March 11, 2026, detailing the true status of the reform commitments made to Kenyans under the agreement signed on March 7, 2025.

“Tomorrow (March 11) we shall release a People’s Report presenting an independent assessment of the true status of the implementation of the 10-Point Agenda,” Osotsi said, adding that Kenyans deserved a truthful account of how far the reforms under the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) framework had progressed.

He also warned against claims that the agreement had no clear implementation timeline, arguing that such interpretations risk undermining reforms that followed nationwide protests demanding governance and economic changes.