Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga has lauded the current broad-based government under President William Ruto, describing it as the most inclusive and development-oriented administration Kenya has had in decades.
Speaking in Siaya County on Monday, Oburu said the ongoing collaboration between President Ruto and ODM Raila Odinga had ushered in a new era of national unity and equitable development across regions.
“This broad-based arrangement is the best we’ve had,” he said.
“I have been in arrangements with Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki, and Kenyatta, but I can tell you that this time we have a genuine arrangement which is giving some development to our people.”
The veteran legislator, who has served in several political capacities since Kenya’s return to multiparty democracy, said the government’s approach was already showing tangible results on the ground.
“Our people are very soon going to see the difference in terms of development,” Oburu said, adding that the current cooperation between the government and opposition leaders was built on trust and mutual respect rather than political expediency.
Oburu’s remarks come amid growing political realignment and collaboration between key national leaders, which has seen former political rivals pledge to work together under the “broad-based government” model championed by President Ruto.
Senator Oburu in the recent past has become a strong supporter of the working arrangement and at one point declared it unshakable.
Speaking during the burial of veteran women’s rights champion Mama Phoebe Asiyo in Karachuonyo, Homa Bay county, Oburu said the handshake-style arrangement was here to stay despite growing grumbling from within ODM.
“Your Excellency, our people are usually very honest. If they don’t love you, they tell you they don’t love you," he said.
"Sometimes back, when you were campaigning here, you would not have gotten such a standing ovation like the one you are receiving because now Raila has told them that this is the way to go. We are in this broad-based government to stay, until 2027,” Oburu told the President, who was in attendance alongside Raila.
The senator warned critics of the Ruto–Raila pact to exercise patience and respect the political pecking order.
The broad-based arrangement started with the coming together of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the opposition’s largest party the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), soon after the Gen Z anti-government protests in June 2024.
It saw the President fire his entire cabinet and, in the reconstitution, accommodated members from the opposition.
Ruto has repeatedly emphasised his desire to build a broad-based government that reflects the face of the nation.
His government has, since taking office in 2022, reached out to leaders from opposition parties and smaller political formations, urging collaboration on national development goals.
