Preparations are complete for a landmark joint Parliamentary Group meeting on Monday that will bring together MPs from President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
The gathering, to be held at the KCB Leadership Centre in Nairobi, will be jointly presided over by the President and the ODM leader in what is being billed as a rare show of political cooperation under the broad-based government arrangement.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Minority Leader Junet Mohamed confirmed the meeting would set out a roadmap for implementing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ruto and Odinga in October last year.
According to State House, the session will focus on strategies to consolidate national unity and accelerate development.
“On Monday, we are going to have a broad-based government meeting between lawmakers from ODM and Kenya Kwanza to agree on strong mechanisms to unite the country and push it forward,” President Ruto said.
Junet Mohamed noted that legislators would also deliberate on compensation for communities affected by recent anti-government protests, a politically sensitive issue that has featured prominently in the national dialogue process.
The meeting follows the appointment last week of a five-member oversight team, chaired by former ODM secretary-general Agnes Zani, tasked with coordinating the rollout of the 10-point agenda and recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report.
Insiders suggest Monday’s agenda will also touch on upcoming by-elections in which both ODM and UDA-affiliated parties have stakes, a potential test of the durability of the emerging political partnership.
For Ruto and Odinga, the joint session marks the most visible step yet in translating their rapprochement into parliamentary cooperation — a move that could reshape Kenya’s political landscape in the months ahead.
