Cagey Ruto tricks ODM into State House meeting on zoning

President Ruto co-chairs ODM Central Management Committee and UDA Steering Committee meeting with ODM leader Oburu Oginga at State House Nairobi. [PCS]

President William Ruto on Thursday remained non- committal on ODM zoning remarks in a meeting he chaired at State House.

The Standard understands that the meeting aimed to quell the threats by the ODM to quit the Broad-based arrangement in case Ruto’s party continues with its plan to field candidates in their strongholds.

Instead, the President urged them to focus on ‘hunting’ rather than demands and ultimatums.

Insiders who attended the meeting said Ruto was in control of the meeting, while the ODM leaders who have been vocal in public spaces on demands such as zoning and the Deputy President’s post, remained quiet for the better part of the meeting.

“The President dominated the meeting; he urged us, the ODM, to remain steadfast and to focus on hunting for votes as opposed to confusing their supporters on demands and threats. He maintained that any issue should be channelled through the party organs as opposed to public rallies,” a source who attended the meeting said.

According to another source, the meeting came as an afterthought as they were summoned on Thursday in the morning, an indication that suggested that the President had captured the ODM party.

President Ruto co-chaired ODM Central Management Committee and UDA Steering Committee meeting with ODM leader Oburu Oginga at State House Nairobi. [PCS]

“Most of us felt that if the President’s team can wake up and summon us to the State House at the last minute, then it shows that he is in control of the party; there was no prior invitation," the source added.

While ODM National chairperson Gladys Wanga and Minority leader of the National Assembly Junet Mohammed have been in the forefront to demand zoning, the topic was introduced to the President by Kisumu West MP Rosa Mbuyu, who pleaded with Ruto that zoning would help the party retain their parliamentary power.

The President, who did not commit that his UDA party would heed to ODM’s demands, said the two parties would have a joint National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to deliberate over the matter.

Failure by the President to agree to the zoning request left the ODM’s Central Management Committee frustrated, as the ruling UDA’s NEC members, led by the party’s Secretary General Hassan Omar, have, on many occasions, maintained that they will field candidates across the country.

“Most of us felt that the President only wanted to manage the ODM leaders because the very people who have maintained that they will not agree on zoning are now part of the team we shall meet to deliberate on the way forward. The fact that he did not give us a date for the joint NEC meeting is also a red flag that it may not happen at all,” a source noted.

At the same time, the ODM also wanted the President to commit to releasing at least half of the money that the State owes the party.

As of early 2026, the ODM party has been in a sustained dispute with the government, demanding the immediate release of over Sh12.6 billion in accumulated, unpaid Political Parties Fund allocations.

But the ODM party led by its party leader Oburu Oginga pleaded with the government to at least release Sh6 billion to his commitment and goodwill of the broad-based arrangement so that the party can proceed with its operations.

“In his response, which showed our request did not yield, he only informed us he would speak to the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, John Mbadi.  We felt that the President was reminding us that the person in charge of the Treasury is our guy and given that there was no budget set aside for the purpose, our request did not see the light of day,” said an ODM member of the steering committee.

The ODM members felt that the President had summoned them to State House to gag them from expressing their discontent with the Broad-Based partner UDA, a move that would give the Opposition fodder to hit at Ruto's administration.

After the meeting, the two leaders, Ruto and Oburu, sent a dispatch announcing that their meeting focused on strengthening collaboration and exploring areas of mutual interest between the two parties.

“The ODM and the UDA today held a joint consultative meeting bringing together the UDA Steering Committee and the ODM Central Management Committee. The meeting focused on strengthening collaboration and exploring areas of mutual interest between the two parties,” the dispatch read in part.

According to the statement, the meeting mandated the respective party chairpersons to continue structured and regular consultations across party organs.

President Ruto co-chaired ODM Central Management Committee and UDA Steering Committee meeting with ODM leader Oburu Oginga at State House Nairobi. [PCS]

"These ongoing engagements are intended to build consensus on priority issues and lay the foundation for a formal coalition of equals between UDA and ODM,” read part of the statement.

It added “In addition, the two-party leaders agreed to establish a Broad- Based Management Committee comprising the party leaders, selected Cabinet Ministers, and the Majority and Minority Leaders in Parliament. The committee will be tasked with coordinating and synchronising the legislative and executive agenda of government to ensure coherence, efficiency, and effective service delivery.”

The two parties, the statement read, reaffirmed their commitment to constructive dialogue, unity of purpose, and a shared vision for national development and inclusive governance.

This is the second time the ODM and UDA announced the creation of a technical team to review policy priorities as part of a potential coalition framework ahead of the 2027 General Election and to accelerate the passage of government bills.

On March 10 this year, during the joint parliamentary meeting where the two parties met to receive the state report on the committee to oversee the implementation of the ten-point agenda and the Nadco report, the two parties announced the move to establish a joint team, a proposal that was never implemented.

“Finally, while some initiatives have taken longer due to parliamentary and other judicial procedures, we must now accelerate the passage of the laws that are there in Parliament and I do recommend that we establish a mediation committee, a broad-based mediation committee to negotiate between the two houses of Parliament so that we can fast-track whatever is remaining of the 10-point agenda,” Ruto said.

“Following consultations between the party leader of ODM and me on behalf of all of us, the UDA management committee did endorse that we begin consultations between UDA Kenya Kwanza and ODM,” he added.

Ruto said the joint parliamentary group meeting should formally adopt the decisions made by the party organs to guide further engagement between the two sides.