We have tried, it has never worked”: Oburu, Mbadi reject Mount Kenya pact

ODM Party Leader Oburu Odinga and Treasury CS John Mbadi have ruled out any political deal with the Mt Kenya region, arguing that such arrangements have repeatedly failed since independence.

Speaking to ODM delegates in Kisumu on Sunday, Oburu said past efforts by Luo leaders, led by Kenya’s founding Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, to build political partnerships with the Kikuyu political elite had never yielded meaningful reciprocity.

“We have tried several times, but it has never worked,” Oburu said, urging the region to continue working with President William Ruto.

ODM party insiders have increasingly portrayed leaders gravitating towards the emerging opposition movement as pursuing a possible alliance with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Oburu recalled the difficult discussions he and Raila Odinga held with Luo elders ahead of the 2002 General Election when they backed the late President Mwai Kibaki.

“When we were having conversations with the Luo elders, they said, ‘Oburu, you are a stupid boy. How can you bring us another Kikuyu? You don’t know what these people did to your father,’” he recalled.

“But we said this one [Kibaki] is different. It’s Jaramogi who got him from Makerere and introduced him to politics. He would be different. But we were wrong.”

Mbadi traced what he termed a long history of political betrayal against Luo leaders by the Mt Kenya political establishment.

He said after Jaramogi declined to take power at independence and instead backed Jomo Kenyatta to become Kenya’s founding President, he was later pushed out of government.

“He didn’t even finish two years. He was arrested and jailed. He was sleeping in prison cells in deplorable conditions… Jaramogi died cursing the evil that was done to him,” Mbadi said.

Mbadi further claimed that in the early 1990s, when the late President Daniel arap Moi cracked down on Kikuyu politicians, they sought political refuge in Jaramogi’s Ford party but later frustrated his presidential ambitions in the 1992 election.

“Jaramogi’s Ford was so strong that KANU was shaken… When they saw that, they went for a Matiba who was still unwell to contest. Jaramogi was only asking them for two years,” he said.

Mbadi also revisited the political tensions during the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying many young Luo supporters were killed while agitating for electoral justice.

“We have tried and begged for the friendship since 1963, but it’s not working,” Mbadi said, likening the pursuit to chasing “a beautiful woman who has no feelings for you”.

On internal ODM wrangles, Oburu warned that the rebel wing associated with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna could not expect to retain senior party positions if they returned.

“In a democracy, there must be discipline. You cannot go against party decisions… If they return, they will not start from the top,” he said.

Oburu also dismissed claims that age had weakened him politically.

“I can assure you I am not weak. Old is gold,” he said.

He announced that ODM’s pre-election coalition agreement with the United Democratic Alliance would be concluded before the end of 2026.

“We are not ashamed to say we want power because there is no way you can get development without power,” he said.

The ODM chairman also criticised the “Ruto must go” political slogan, saying ODM would not focus its politics on removing an individual from office.

He disclosed that he was engaging President Ruto and Mbadi on possible interventions to lower fuel prices, while attributing rising global energy costs to geopolitical tensions and international conflicts.

“He [President Trump] started by plucking the President of Venezuela from bed with the wife,” Oburu said.