Edwin Sifuna Rejects Plan to Table ODM-UDA Pact Report at Closed Meeting Demands Public Intervention as the Late Raila Odinga had Instructed
Edwin Sifuna has criticised plans to present a report on the implementation of the pact between Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and United Democratic Alliance (UDA) at a closed-door meeting, insisting that the findings should instead be made public.
The Nairobi Senator argued that the agreement signed between President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga clearly required that the final report be released to the public rather than discussed privately among a select group of leaders.
According to Sifuna, presenting the report in a closed parliamentary group meeting would contradict the spirit of transparency that informed the pact.
The implementation committee is expected to table a progress report marking one year since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties.
Party officials have indicated that the document will first be presented to a joint parliamentary group meeting bringing together legislators from ODM and UDA before any wider release.
However, Sifuna maintained that the report concerns all Kenyans and should therefore be made available to the public immediately.
He said the agreement was intended to address key national concerns and was not merely a political arrangement between the two parties.
Speaking during a youth engagement forum in Nairobi, Sifuna criticised the committee overseeing the implementation of the pact, saying Kenyans expected accountability and clear answers regarding the progress of the commitments made in the agreement.
He argued that the committee should have held open forums to explain the report to citizens at the grassroots level.
The Nairobi Senator also questioned whether some of the key promises contained in the pact had been fulfilled, including addressing the country’s public debt, protecting civil liberties, and ending cases of abductions and extrajudicial killings.
He said the public needed to know how far the government had gone in meeting those commitments.
The MoU, signed on March 7, 2025, established a 10-point reform agenda aimed at stabilising the political environment after months of protests largely led by young people.
Among the issues outlined in the agreement were the implementation of the National Dialogue Committee recommendations, strengthening devolution, fighting corruption, empowering youth, and safeguarding constitutional freedoms.
The agreement also led to the formation of a technical committee tasked with monitoring progress on the reforms and preparing a report on their implementation.
As the country marks one year since the signing of the pact, the handling of the report has sparked debate within ODM, with some leaders insisting the findings must be shared openly with the public.
