I'll Not Bribe You: Ruto To Opposition

On the flip side, he rallied behind the broad-based government plan, saying its main goal is to unite Kenyans and drive national development. "We have decided because we are not interested in tribal politics. We have decided to work together so that no part of the country is left behind," he stated.

Ruto was joined by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Homa Bay for the launch of several development projects.

Raila, for his part, emphasised that their current priority is delivering services, urging newly appointed ODM leaders in government to serve the Kenyan people.

He assured residents that when the time is right, he will outline the political direction for his supporters ahead of the 2027 elections.

Their remarks notably come after a survey published on Wednesday, May 28, by Trends and Insights for Africa (TIFA) predicted that Ruto's relationship with Raila will be short-lived, with many Kenyans predicting the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) abandoning the Head of State ahead of the 2027 general elections.

28 per cent of Kenyans said they believe Raila will return to the opposition and run for president again. Another 18 per cent expect him to rejoin the opposition but back a different presidential candidate instead. However, just 23 per cent think the ODM leader will support President Ruto’s reelection bid, while 14 per cent believe Raila will choose to retire and sit out the next General Election entirely.

According to the report, over a third of those who currently support the broad-based government believe Raila will break away from the alliance and return to the opposition—25% think he’ll run for president himself, while 13% expect him to back a rival candidate.

Among those opposed to the broad-based government, just over half predict that by 2027, Raila will have rejoined the opposition—31% believe he’ll launch his own bid, and 22% think he’ll support someone else.

In August 2024, Raila announced that he had “donated some of his experts” to President Ruto following the president’s decision to dissolve his cabinet in the wake of violent anti-finance bill protests.

As a result, several of Raila’s allies—John Mbadi (Treasury), Wycliffe Oparanya (Co-operatives), Ali Hassan Joho (Mining), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), and Beatrice Askul (EAC & ASALs)—were appointed as cabinet secretaries in Ruto’s government.

In exchange, Ruto publicly backed Raila’s bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairmanship and committed significant resources to support the campaign. However, Raila ultimately lost the election in February.

Despite the setback, Ruto and Raila formalised their cooperation through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), outlining a working alliance between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).