Millie Odhiambo: ODM could ask Ruto to back Raila in 2027
Suba North Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo has indicated that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party may consider asking President William Ruto to back former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking on Saturday, July 2, 2025, the lawmaker explained that ODM’s current cooperation with President Ruto’s administration is driven by a desire to stabilise the country in the wake of political and economic challenges. She clarified that this collaboration should not be mistaken for an endorsement of Ruto’s re-election bid.
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Odhiambo also defended Raila Odinga’s decision to work with President Ruto, describing it as a difficult but necessary choice for the country’s sake. She noted that Raila has endured immense personal and political sacrifice in pursuit of Kenya’s democratic journey, and his move to join hands with Ruto should be viewed as a step toward unity rather than betrayal.
“Raila Odinga has had to make difficult choices for this country. We went through difficult times, and I watched Raila almost being killed, so for him to choose to move the country forward, nobody should blame him for that,” she stated.
She emphasised that ODM’s current cooperation with Ruto’s administration does not mean they will support him in the 2027 polls.
“And because of that, we have agreed that for purposes of stabilising the country, we stand with a broad-based government till 2027. And it is not automatic that we will support Ruto in 2027. We can also ask Ruto to support Raila in 2027. It is a matter of negotiations,” Millie added.
UDA-ODM deal dead
Her remarks come just days after ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna openly criticised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ODM and President Ruto’s UDA party, calling it dead.
Speaking in an interview on July 22, 2025, Sifuna revealed that he had warned the party against entering into a formal agreement with UDA, citing potential public backlash and poor faith from the government side.
“I have already declared this MOU dead. I am on record having advised the party against doing this MOU with UDA, and we still went ahead and entered that MOU, but you see, the beauty is that you are proven right every day,” Sifuna stated.
The Nairobi Senator accused President Ruto and his team of treating the agreement as a public relations exercise rather than a serious political commitment.
“The problem with doing a formal MOU with UDA is that it didn’t matter what the MOU said. The people from UDA, the government, and William Ruto are not interested in the details of the MOU… They wanted a document that they could then go and run a PR campaign around and say ‘Tumeungana‘, ‘We are together’. That is not what this document says,” Sifuna explained.
He further disclosed that he has declined to join a new team that is being formed to review the implementation of the MoU.
“I’m not a mortician. There’s no point in me going through a document I’ve already declared dead,” he said.
According to Sifuna, the ODM-UDA agreement had two main goals: to protect the lives of citizens and to sustain a stable democratic state until 2027. He admitted that while the country is enjoying relative political stability, the agreement has failed to protect lives.
“Ruto is getting his end of the bargain because the democratic state is getting sustained at least until 2027, but our people are not getting there. They are still being killed,” he said.
