Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi has come out very exasperated after President William Ruto failed to call for a minute of silence in honour of the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who died on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, while receiving treatment in India.

Speaking after President Ruto’s address to the nation on Thursday, November 20, 2025, Geoffrey Osotsi was visibly disappointed with how the President failed to honour the late ODM leader, who, according to Osotsi, had served as the MP for Kibra for a long time and was a huge political figure.

Since this was the first joint sitting between the National Assembly and the Senate post-Raila Odinga’s death, according to Ososti, it could have been wise for the head of state to spare a minute of his speech to observe silence for the departed statesman.

He also faulted Ruto, saying that in his long speech, he didn’t even discuss Raila Odinga.

“We expected that, being the first joint address to Parliament, he could have spared one minute of silence for Raila Odinga, who was the longest-serving MP and an important political figure in this country. He never gave that opportunity,” Osotsi said.

10-point agenda

He went on to express his disappointment, saying that, as the deputy party leader of ODM, he was also dissatisfied with how the President failed to speak on the 10-point agenda that was part of the broad-based agreement between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

This agenda comprised issues such as the implementation of the proceeds of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) of 2023, abductions, and many other concerns. Osotsi said that since this was the first joint sitting, it could have been wise for the President to include these in his address to Parliament.

“As the deputy party leader of ODM, I am very disappointed with the speech because we in ODM expected that he would address the issues contained in the 10-point agenda, which are very valid issues affecting ordinary Kenyans,” Osotsi said.

He went on to state that a president’s address is expected to comprise a lot of futuristic plans and ideas, despite one and a half years remaining for his term to elapse.

These comments came after President William Ruto’s address to the nation in Parliament, where he hailed his government for a raft of changes aimed at stabilising the economy.