Oburu tells outsiders to keep out of ODM–UDA negotiations

ODM leader Oburu Oginga has told people outside the party to stop prescribing the terms of its negotiations with UDA, including whether the discussions should produce a written agreement.

In a statement reported on October 29, Oburu said ODM’s established structures and leadership were capable of negotiating in the interests of the party and the country. He described implementation of the 10-point agenda as a non-negotiable element of the engagement.

His intervention comes amid competing arguments over the terms on which ODM should cooperate with President William Ruto ahead of the 2027 election. The statement reasserts who speaks for ODM; it does not announce that the two parties have concluded a coalition pact.

Oburu also objected to conducting negotiations as a public spectacle. The distinction matters because demands made at rallies are negotiating positions, not evidence that UDA has accepted them.

The next substantive test will be an authorised account of agreed terms and the party bodies that approve them. Until then, claims that particular offices or Cabinet shares have already been allocated go beyond what this statement establishes.