Raila reveals how national conclave dialogue should be conducted
By Arnold Ngure, July 21, 2025Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has revealed what the national conclave he has proposed would look like if adopted.
Speaking during an interview at his Karen residence in Nairobi on Sunday, July 20, 2025, Raila suggested that the discussions should begin right from the over 40,000 polling stations across the country and progress upwards.
“I am happy, at least that Kenyans are now discussing this issue; that is why I want it to be. My suggestion is that you start at the grassroots at every polling station, where everyone has a right to assemble,” Raila said.
Elect representatives
“After they assemble there, they can talk about issues affecting them, and then they can agree to elect representatives to go to the next level. Once they agree on issues to be discussed, they elect 40 or 50 people there again, where 20 are the youth, then it goes to the ward level.”
Raila says that another group of 40 representatives would be elected at the ward level to represent at the county level, where another group of 40 representatives will proceed to the national conclave.
“At the ward, they discuss and then elect another 40 to go to the next level of Sub-County, where the same exercise is done, then they proceed to the County, where we end up with 40 delegates from each county coming to the national conclave,” Raila noted.
National conclave
He indicated that at the national level, the groups of 40 people from all the 47 counties would be joined by a selected group of the clergy, MPs, civil society and union representatives.
“At the national conclave, you can add members of parliament, religious groups, civil society, intellectuals and workers’ representatives,” Raila remarked.
Pressed on how the process would be funded, Raila stated that it would purely be a people-funded initiative, with no government funding.
“The process will fund itself. The people themselves will raise the money to send the delegates,” Raila said.
The ODM Party leader equally maintained that dialogue is the only solution for the country to extricate itself from the current crisis of the youth it is faced with.