NAIVASHA, Kenya- ODM party leader Oburu Oginga has defended the party’s decision to work with President William Ruto, saying the party assessed the available political options and concluded that none offered a better alternative.
Oburu said ODM joined Ruto because, despite reservations about the President, the party considered him a better option than his political competitors.
“We joined Ruto because, looking at the other options, nobody was better than him. Even if we thought he was a devil, he was a better devil than the others,” Oburu said.
He was speaking on Monday, August 10, 2026, during the ongoing broad-based Parliamentary Group meeting in Naivasha.
The meeting has brought together Members of Parliament, Senators, Governors and Cabinet Secretaries as leaders from the broad-based administration discuss the political and governance direction of the partnership ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Oburu defends broad-based arrangement
Oburu said the Naivasha meeting would provide an opportunity for leaders to assess what the government has achieved and determine the next phase of their political engagement.
“We are going to discuss what we have achieved and what we are going to plan,” he said.
He placed the current political arrangement within Kenya’s wider history of political struggles, saying the country had gone through several political transitions since independence.
“We have been in a struggle. First, the struggle was to get independence of this country. The country has gone through revolutions. The country has gone through many waves,” Oburu said.
He cited the abandonment of multiparty politics as one of the periods he said had undermined democratic governance.
“The first wave was when multi-party was abandoned. Single party was leading to dictatorship. It was not allowing proper democracy to prevail. There are Kenyans who lost their lives,” he said.
Oburu said the return to multiparty politics was the result of sustained political struggle and sacrifices by Kenyans.
ODM’s political organisation
The ODM leader also highlighted the party’s organisational structure, saying it had built networks extending to the polling-station level.
“Our party ODM has been in existence for the last 20 years. We are organised up to the polling station,” he said.
Oburu said the party’s organisational model had attracted interest from other political actors.
“Many people admire us. They want to copy what we are doing,” he said.
He also defended ODM’s decision to participate in the broad-based government, saying the party had made a deliberate choice to engage in the country’s political affairs rather than allow instability to prevail.
“We deliberately and consciously decided that our country will not go to the dogs when some people wanted to throw protests,” Oburu said.
His remarks come as ODM and President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance continue discussions over their political relationship ahead of the 2027 elections.
Call for clarity
Oburu also urged leaders participating in the broad-based arrangement to be open about their political positions.
He called on the leaders to avoid remaining on the fence as discussions over the future of the partnership continue.
The Naivasha meeting is expected to address the government’s record, future plans and the political relationship between the parties supporting the broad-based administration.
The gathering comes one year before the next General Election, with political parties already positioning themselves for the contest.
The relationship between ODM and UDA is expected to be a central issue in the discussions, particularly as both parties have interests in constituencies and counties where they could face each other in the 2027 elections.
The meeting is also taking place against the backdrop of competing political formations seeking to consolidate support ahead of the election.
