By Dawan Africa - Admin
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Kenya, 25 October 2026 - Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has challenged ODM leaders demanding a written political agreement with President William Ruto, arguing that the Luo community can secure development and political inclusion without making a formal pact a precondition for cooperation.
His position is finding support among influential political figures, including Nyando MP Jared Okello, who has declared: “Our loyalty is to the prince,” and Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, who is keen on backing Ruto for a second presidential term in 2027.
"Let us show the President our love for the good things that he is relentlessly doing for us. He means well for us, we can give him conditional love. No. Lets show his flawless relationship,'' pleaded Omollo enumerating a raft of socio-economic development activities that the President had done for Nyanza people.
But the loyalty-first approach faces a formidable counterargument from ODM National Chairperson Gladys Wanga, who says the party’s support for Ruto’s re-election should be secured rather through a formal 50-50 power-sharing agreement, including the Deputy President position. 'We want to share power.''she says.
The competing positions have exposed deepening divisions within ODM over how to convert the party’s political support into tangible power following the death of its longtime leader Raila Odinga.
At the heart of the dispute is whether the Luo community should trust Ruto’s development record and political goodwill or insist on a negotiated framework spelling out the benefits and obligations of cooperation.
Omollo’s argument is not that ODM should abandon political engagement with the President. Rather, he is challenging the insistence that a written agreement must be the price of cooperation.
This he said while addressing thousands of cane farmers in Ndhiwa in Homabay County. He rallied them to back Ruto for greater good saying there are so many roads, water and electricity projects lined up for the region to improve their socio -economic living standards.
His position is that Ruto’s administration can deliver development and inclusion without being subjected to ultimatums over a formal pact. The community, in this reading, should demonstrate its commitment through cooperation instead of withholding political support until specific concessions are secured.
It is a strategy that places faith in the President’s willingness to reward political partnership, rather than in a document defining what each side must deliver.
Okello’s declaration, “Our loyalty is to the prince,” captures the thinking of leaders who believe the community’s fortunes are best served by remaining firmly within Ruto’s political orbit.
Mbadi’s commitment to backing Ruto for a second term reinforces this emerging alignment, signalling that sections of the Luo leadership are looking beyond immediate negotiations towards a longer-term partnership with the President.
Yet Wanga is drawing a harder line.
The ODM chairperson has maintained that the party’s support for Ruto’s 2027 re-election must be anchored in a 50-50 power-sharing arrangement that guarantees it a substantial share of government, including the Deputy President position.
For proponents of a formal pact, political goodwill cannot substitute for clearly defined commitments. A written agreement would establish expectations on representation, appointments and shared priorities while providing a basis for holding both sides accountable.
Wanga and other senior ODM leaders have agreed in principle to formalise the political relationship, but negotiations remain contested, exposing tensions over the terms and direction of the emerging alliance.
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed has offered another glimpse into the shifting calculations, signalling that political forces currently in the opposition could support Ruto if negotiations produce favourable outcomes.
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“Politics is the art of the unknown,” Junet said, describing political realignments as a normal feature of political life.
They want to share power on an equal basis not because they are weak, but because they want to remain a strong political voice in the country's murky political atnsposhere.
“Anything can happen in politics. Friends are foes tomorrow, foes are friends tomorrow. It's normal in politics.”
He said discussions about 2027 were only beginning, but made clear that support for Ruto would depend on the outcome.
“If the negotiations and talks go well, then definitely we will support him,” he said. “If they don’t go well, then we have options.”
Junet’s remarks underline the central uncertainty: even among leaders open to supporting the President, the terms of cooperation remain negotiable.
For Ruto, the challenge is to reconcile a growing constituency of loyal supporters with an ODM leadership demanding explicit guarantees in exchange for its electoral backing.
For ODM, the dilemma is whether to trust the President’s political goodwill or insist on a contract before committing its electoral machinery.
The stakes extend beyond the Deputy President position. They touch on ODM’s future, Raila Odinga’s political legacy and the Luo community’s place in Kenya’s national power structure.
Omollo’s camp believes loyalty and sustained cooperation can secure influence without a written contract. Wanga’s position is that support must be tied to a defined power-sharing arrangement. Junet’s intervention suggests that the wider political realignment remains conditional on the outcome of negotiations.
The battle is no longer simply about whether the Luo community will support Ruto. As time ticks toward 2027, many have retreated to hold and see how things will work out this time if the loose arrangement is upheld or they agree on a formal political pact.
But given that it has worked well under BBG, PS thinks it can still work and Nyando MP Okello supports the PS saying nothing is impossible as long as it is a mutually binding agreement to operate as so and give Ruto easy time to mobilize and woo other Kenyans. "Politics is the arts of the possible,'' he said
So, he argued that if politics is the art of the possible, theatre is the art of the impossible and so the players better choose wisely or decide appropriately what is feasible or not but the overriding belief is that all is possible, whichever way they opt.
It is about whether that support will be offered as loyalty, negotiated as a political bargain or withheld until the price of cooperation is agreed.