Sifuna slams plan to table ODM-UDA pact report at closed meeting

 

Former Chief Justice David Maraga and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during the people dialogue festival at Uhuru Park. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Embattled ODM Secretary General  Edwin Sifuna has criticised plans to present a report on the implementation of the 10-point agreement between ODM and UDA to a closed-door meeting instead of making it public.

Sifuna accused the implementation committee of departing from the spirit of the agreement, which he said required the findings to be shared openly with Kenyans.

“The document that was signed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the President said that the comprehensive final report would be given on March 7, and not to a select group. It says to the public,” Sifuna said.

The committee is expected to release a progress report today, marking one year since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), during a joint parliamentary group meeting between ODM and UDA.

 

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during the people dialogue festival at Uhuru Park. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The Nairobi Senator also criticised committee chairperson Agnes Zani, saying Kenyans expect accountability rather than explanations. “Kenyans do not expect stories,” he said.

Sifuna spoke on Friday while addressing youths who had attended the People’s Dialogue event at Uhuru Park in Nairobi. ODM officials have indicated that the report will first be presented to a joint parliamentary group meeting of the two parties before any wider release.

However, Sifuna said the committee should instead have held public dialogue forums with grassroots communities to unveil the report, arguing that limiting its release undermines the transparency envisioned when Raila negotiated the agreement.

“Kenyans wanted an audit of our debt to know how much we owe, who we owe and how that money was used,” he said.“That document was not about ODM and UDA; it was about all of us. They are supposed to give a report on the end of abductions and extra-judicial killings,” he added.

Sifuna further said the committee should also provide a framework for implementing the two-thirds gender rule and other reforms outlined in the pact. “Baba insisted that Kenyans must see whether the commitments made in that document were honoured. Taking the report to a PG first defeats the whole purpose of accountability,” he said.

The MoU, signed on March 7, 2025, established a 10-point reform agenda aimed at addressing governance concerns and stabilising the political environment following months of largely youth-led protests.

Key issues included implementing the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, protecting devolution, tackling corruption, empowering the youth, safeguarding civil liberties and ending abductions and extrajudicial killings.

At the time, Raila framed the agreement as a national reform framework rather than a political coalition with the government.

The agreement later led to the formation of a technical committee in August 2025 tasked with monitoring the implementation of the reforms and compiling a progress report.