Why 10-point agenda team 'failed to meet Raila's demands'

 

The Committee on the Implementation of the ten-point agenda and the National Dialogue Committee report (Nadco) released yesterday disappointed many Kenyans after failing to address key issues former ODM leader Raila Odinga demanded when signing the Memorandum of Understanding on March 7, 2025.

Whereas the Agnes Zani-led team was expected to release a report reflecting the government’s commitment to implementing the reforms agenda, burning issues like actualisation of the two-thirds gender rule were ignored.

Even government allied leaders like the ruling party United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairperson and Embu Governor Cecile Mbarire, and Mathare MP Antony Oluoch, questioned the contents of the report.

Speaking animatedly with a lot of emotions at the meeting co-chaired by the broad-based government principals — President William Ruto and ODM Party leader Oburu Odinga — Mbarire decried that the report did not address the two-thirds gender issue that was one of the main issues.

The contents of the 20-page document, produced in point form, contained what looked more of a broad-based government status than the implementation of the ten-point agenda Memorandum of Understanding and the Nadco report.

It also completely ignored the burning questions of extra-judicial killings, the independence of political parties, the national debt, wastage of public resources, and the right to peaceful assembly. These issues were at the core of the much-discussed agreement.

Even after the President had finished speaking, Mbarire raised her hand and asked the President to make his pronouncement on some matters, saying the committee failed to comprehensively address the one-third gender question that had not been addressed for a long time.

“Please say something about two third gender rule. It is silent in this report. You know how critical this matter is. It is very important that this is mentioned here and now,” she said amid interjections by President Ruto.

On his part, Oluoch expressed concerns that the President appeared to present a comprehensive report on the broad-based government achievements compared to what the committee was asked to do, and urged his colleagues to recall the document.

“The communication that comes out of here must be clear and distinct in terms of what the ten-point agenda achieved. I think the President properly captured this much more than I see on this report, not because they have done a bad job,  I think we must recall this document and capture what the President has said in terms of what has been achieved,” said Oluoch.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki then countered Oluoch: “We can do an executive summary and release a dispatch later today. The comprehensive ten-point agenda can come more comprehensively.”

Despite the committee’s declaration that it had engaged various stakeholders that included members of the public, churches, and State agencies, its report did not contain the specific details on what they gathered.

On specific issues contained in the memorandum of understanding between Ruto and the late Raila, the committee only reported that identification of protest victims had been completed by relevant authorities, but did not provide details such as the number of victims and how they would be compensated.

 “The broad-based government has taken steps to safeguard the constitutional right to peaceful assembly while addressing violations and compensation claims.

‘‘The government has allocated Sh2 billion in the first supplementary budget of the 2025/26 financial year for compensation of victims of protests.  Identification of victims has been completed by relevant institutions, including IPOA and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights,” the report reads.

The report noted that between 2023 and 2025, IPOA had handled 820 cases of alleged police misconduct during public order management, securing convictions in 35 cases involving 49 officers, and recommending disciplinary action against 30 officers.

However, the committee failed to capture the recent cases of deaths that emanated from police who disrupted meetings by lobbing teargas and shooting to disperse rallies by the Opposition leaders, who include Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, where deaths and injuries were reported.

 The committee only proposed that the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights spearheads legislation to safeguard protesters while protecting livelihoods and property, while proposing that the IPOA concludes investigations into complaints within six months and publish its findings.

It also proposed that the National Police Service be resourced and supported to strengthen continuous training and retooling of officers for effective crowd management in accordance with the rule of law.

On the issue of the national debt, the committee reported that the broad-based government had prioritised responsible debt management, reduced borrowing, although figures from the National Treasury indicate that the debt continues to rise from Sh8.7 trillion in September 2022 when Ruto took office to Sh12.299 trillion in December 2025.

The committee did not address extravagant spending like the State House appetite, where it has depleted its annual allocation of Sh10 billion in seven months, and its policy and legal recommendations on stopping wastage of public resources and promoting government efficiency, which was also part of the ten-point agenda.

Instead, the report hailed the government for ‘‘implementing austerity measures, strengthening financial management systems and digitising public services to reduce wastage, improve efficiency and enhance transparency in public expenditure.’’