Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto and ODM leader Oburu Oginga have moved to steady their fragile political partnership, chairing a high-level meeting aimed at cooling rising tensions between UDA and ODM.
The Thursday morning meeting at State House resolved to establish a joint committee to address emerging issues threatening unity under the Broad-Based Government (BBG).
A joint statement said the committee will bring together selected Cabinet Secretaries, party leadership, and Majority and Minority leaders in Parliament to align government business.
The team will be tasked with coordinating and synchronising both legislative and executive agendas to ensure coherence, efficiency and effective service delivery.
“The two-party leaders agreed to establish a Broad-Based Management Committee comprising party leaders, selected Cabinet Ministers, and the Majority and Minority Leaders in Parliament,” the statement read.
Ruto and Oburu also reaffirmed their commitment to dialogue, unity of purpose and a shared vision for inclusive governance, with State House saying the talks focused on strengthening collaboration and identifying areas of mutual interest.
ODM and UDA chairpersons Gladys Wanga and Cecil Mbarire were tasked with leading structured and regular consultations across party organs.
The meeting comes just days after cracks emerged in the alliance, with ODM publicly demanding “respect” from its partners and disagreements surfacing over nomination strategies.
While ODM had pushed for zoning to protect its strongholds, the matter was shelved during the talks, with leaders agreeing it was not the right time to address it.
Sources indicated the newly formed committee could later expand its role to cover broader coalition-building efforts, with more joint meetings expected.
Fears that coalition talks had stalled were also dismissed, with Oburu insisting there were no negotiations to halt.
“There are no talks that have stalled between ODM and UDA. We cannot stop what has not started,” he said.
Mbarire signalled that more cross-party consultations are on the way, promising clarity once discussions mature.
“Whatever issues are emerging in the coalition will definitely be looked at, and we will come back to you with the final and official position,” she said.
