President William Ruto and ODM party leader Raila Odinga signed a deal to work together in the government. The pact was finalized at the KICC, Nairobi, attended by leaders allied to the principals.

The duo, who were political rivals in the last general elections, agreed to put the interests of Kenyans first by addressing issues affecting them.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties was publicized by the Secretary Generals, Edwin Sifuna and Hassan Omar.

While giving his address, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna affirmed that ODM party organs had verified the content of the MoU and approved it. Before today’s agreement, Sifuna had publicly been dismissing any political alliance with Ruto.

“We are all clear on what it is and what it is not. As ODM Secretary General, I want to confirm that this document has been processed through the relevant party organs,” Sifuna said.

Here is the full agreement:

“Now, therefore, the two leaders commit and resolve to collaborate and cooperate with each other. The priority issues in the NADCO process, such as the cost of living, youth unemployment, and establishing a framework for the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, have been topics of discussion for far too long and now must be actualized.

Number two: inclusivity in all spheres of public life. Kenya belongs to all persons, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, generation, or geographic location. All Kenyans are equal, and all are entitled to equitable budgetary resource allocation and opportunities in public appointments.

Further, though the Constitution of Kenya is clear on the rights of minorities and marginalized people in the country, not enough has been done—almost fifteen years later—to uphold these rights by fully implementing the provisions of the constitution.

Third: protecting and strengthening devolution. Devolution must continue to be protected from any possibility of a clawback on devolved functions. More effort must be put into devolving all funds allocated to a devolved function, increasing the budgetary allocation to counties, and ensuring the timely and predictable disbursement of devolved funds.”