President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga officially signed a working agreement following weeks of consultations countrywide on the political deal.
The event, held at Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi on Friday, marked a historic signing when both leaders put pen to paper to seal the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will chart the country’s way forward.
Before signing the document, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna and his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) counterpart Hassan Omar read out the issues that will be tackled in the agreement.
The first issue was the full implementation of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report that proposed key reforms within the country.
The report emanated as a result of protests following the 2022 General Election after Raila claimed the elections were rigged.
This took the intervention of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to bring both Raila and Ruto to the negotiation table.
This birthed a bipartisan team – the NADCO – that led to the formation of the report that sought to address the cost of living, youth employment and a framework to implement the two-thirds gender rule.
The second and third issues involve inclusivity for all minority groups and strengthening devolution to improve services on a local level.
The two leaders will also address promotion and protection of youths’ lives by empowering sectors such as technology, blue economy, manufacturing and mining to create employment opportunities.
The duo promised to provide leadership and maintain integrity within the broad-based government to provide better services.
Another issue was for the National Police Service (NPS) to respect Kenyans’ rights to protest and update their methods of handling demonstrators that are exercising their Constitutional rights.
The national debt was also a key concern in the agreement, with both parties agreeing that a national audit must be carried out to determine the country’s status.
Further, accountability measures would be enhanced to assess how funds are used.
Another concern was the fight against corruption whereby both leaders will enhance the capacity of institutions that enforce accountability such as the Auditor General and the Controller of Budget.
The ninth issue involved preventing the wastage of government resources to promote efficiency.
The final matter was the protection and promotion of the sovereignty of the Constitution to protect human rights, maintain order and prevent abuse of power.
ODM National Chairperson and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga lauded the new partnership, terming it a sign of putting national interest above self.
“The unity and stability and prosperity of this country is not the responsibility of a few; it is the responsibility of all of us, as a nation.
And while we may have different political persuasions, and come from different parts of the country and different schools of thought, nobody can fault unity. Nobody can fault equity,” she stated.
“This unity that you have put together today is not about the two of you, because Baba has seen it all; in fact he has enough for all generations.
The President has sat on all positions. So, in my thinking, this unity is for the young people, women, the marginalized…it is for all Kenyans who have felt like they have never been part of Kenya.”
Her UDA counterpart and Embu County boss Cecily Mbarire echoed the remarks, further lauding the transparency of the process and the contents of the MoU.
Mbarire went ahead to commend President Ruto and Raila for putting aside their differences and hardline stances for the betterment of the nation.
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