Mbeere MP Geoffery Ruku has opined on what informed Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga’s agreeing to work with President William Ruto under the agreement framework signed by the pair on Friday, March 7, 2025.

The new-found cooperation between the two principals has elicited reactions across the political divide with proponents of the pact terming it as a path towards national unity. Others, especially the former allies of the ex-prime minister who oppose Ruto’s regime have termed the association a betrayal of Kenyans for temporary comforts.

However, speaking during an interview with a local TV station on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Ruku maintained that the veteran politician has in the past proved capable of putting Kenyan interest over his own.

“Odinga has put Kenyans interest first on many occasions before his own. He is not coming to the government to offer support to President William Ruto, he is coming to the government to focus on the issues affecting Kenyans. It is what is pulling him out of his ODM house. Ruto has told him there is a route to do it by not going to the streets,” the PM stated.

The MP further his support for the implementation of the National Dialogue Report (NADCO) as envisaged in the agreement agenda, stressing that it is in line with the spirit of amending the Kenyan constitution to meet the growing needs of Kenyans and governance changes
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Raila on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, laid bare how the agreement pact came to fruition while attending the burial of Lewis Wilkinson Kimani Waiyaki in Kiambu.

Speaking during the event, Raila defended his recent political agreement with President William Ruto, asserting that it was Ruto who approached him.

“Many people are making noise here and there that Raila has gone to Ruto, that I have abandoned them. I have not gone to Ruto; he came to me,” Odinga stated.

Odinga further maintained that his core principles remain unchanged despite the new political arrangement.

“I have remained steadfast; my stance has not changed. The most important thing since I was born until now is that I have been fighting for the rights of all Kenyans.We all went out to the streets fighting for Kenyans, saying the cost of living had risen. We demanded that the servers be opened, we said corruption had increased and tribalism had worsened. Didn’t we say all those things?” he asked.

Raila thus urged Kenyans to give the agreement a chance, emphasizing that the opposition’s core demands had been acknowledged in the document signed with Ruto’s administration.

He asserted that the agreement provides an opportunity for reform ahead of the next general election.

“Now we say we are giving them an opportunity to make corrections. The election will come in 2027, and citizens will decide for themselves. But from here until then, we don’t want our citizens to continue suffering,” he stated.