Raila: We are supporting Ruto up to 2027

Arnold Ngure 21st July, 2025 03:09 AM

President William Ruto and Raila Odinga interact during the national executive retreat in Karen on June 20, 2025. PHOTO/@RailaOdinga/X

ODM Party leader Raila Odinga has stated that his support for President William Ruto will not go beyond 2027.

Speaking during an interview at his Karen residence in Nairobi on Sunday, July 20, 2025, Raila indicated that his decision to support Ruto was to stabilise the country and not long-term.

“I have not said that I am running, and in my view, we are in 2025, and it is too early for anybody to talk about 2027. We are supporting this government up to 2027. We did not say that we are going to work with UDA beyond 2027; those are issues that we will discuss at an appropriate time,” Raila stated.

2027 plans

While Raila remained non-committal on his plans for the 2027 polls, he stated that his options were open to run, support another candidate, or engage in post-2027 talks with Ruto.

President William Ruto shaking hands with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. PHOTO/@WilliamsRuto/X

“I don’t have to run for presidency; I can support somebody else, but I can also run if I want to run. I have not made a decision because I don’t think it is time to make a decision,” he said.

During the interview, Raila revealed that he was on talking terms with former Azimio coalition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua.

Betrayed Gen Zs?

He fought off claims that he had betrayed the Gen Z movement, noting that the youth had reached a stalemate, and he only came in to resolve the standoff.

Raila Odinga and President William Ruto interact during a past function in Kisumu. PHOTO/@RailaOdinga/X

“I was asked to stay home, and I did stay at home. What Gen Z did, which was very fundamental, was that they said clearly that people had no confidence in the government. They stormed parliament, the supreme court, and were on the way to the State House, meaning that there was no confidence in the three arms of government,” Raila stated.

“The government should have resigned in that situation, and it did not. There was a stalemate, and the government was now trying to bring the military into the fray, and the Gen Zs were also not making much progress,” he said.

“There was a standoff that could easily lead to anarchy. We didn’t have the power to compel the military to surrender or remove the president from the State House .”