“One Term… So What?” Raila Tells Off Critics at Homa Bay Burial

Raila Odinga is not here to play nice.

Speaking at the burial of Dr. Phoebe Asiyo in Homa Bay County, Raila told critics to stop shouting and wait for 2027. He made it clear that he stands by the broad-based government and has no time for empty noise.

“To the naysayers, give us space and judge us in 2027. This is going to last till 2027, after that we’ll see where we’ll go,” he said.

Raila did not stop there. He also responded to the growing ‘one term’ chants aimed at President William Ruto.

“If you’re saying one term, one term… so what? It’s Kenyans who will decide the term,” Raila said.

The former Prime Minister has been under pressure since ODM lawmakers started working closely with Ruto. Many supporters feel the party has gone silent. Some believe the move will hurt ODM in the next election. But Raila does not seem worried at all.

He told the crowd that real work is going on behind the scenes. He praised the steps already taken to push the ten-point agenda in the Memorandum of Understanding.

One of the main steps was the appointment of a five-member team to watch over the National Dialogue Committee report. Raila said this team will make sure the promises are not forgotten.

The five members are Gabriel Oguda, Agnes Zani, Kevin Kiarie, Fatuma Ibrahim, and Javas Bigambo. Their job will include helping the youth, protecting devolution, fighting corruption, and defending the right to protest.

Raila also announced a major political meeting. “We have a structure to ensure the MoU is implemented fully and that’s why next week we shall have a joint Parliamentary Group meeting to ensure that our MPs put up structures so that we implement what we agreed on,” he said.

The meeting will be held on August 18. Lawmakers from Kenya Kwanza and ODM will come together to begin the work.

Featured image via Screengrab