Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has explained why he skipped the joint ODM–UDA parliamentary group meeting convened by President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga at Karen.
Speaking in a media interview on Thursday, August 20, 2025, the Embakasi East legislator said he chose not to attend because he felt sidelined during the drafting of the NADCO report and the subsequent agreement on a broad-based government.
“I respect Raila Amolo Odinga. He is my party leader, my leader. I respect him so much, and you will never find me fighting him in the public domain. But when the NADCO report was being drafted, when there was an agreement between UDA and ODM on the Broad-Based Government, I was not consulted as a Member of Parliament.
I ought to have been consulted because I represent the views of my constituents. I was not consulted, and therefore when a meeting is called, if they did not consult me then, why would they want to consult me further?” Babu stated.
Babu Reveals Why He Skipped Ruto – Raila Meeting
At the same time, Babu Owino spoke about ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, who also skipped the Karen meeting.
The Embakasi MP stated that the ODM Secretary General had his reasons for skipping the meeting.
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Babu Owino further stated that every member within the party has a right to express his or her views when dissatisfied with how the party is running, as has been guaranteed several times by the party leader, Raila Odinga.
“From time to time, Baba has always been clear on what he wants, and Baba has always mentioned that within ODM, people have democratic rights to express their views, and that is what ODM stands for, and he said even in the public domain that we cannot all think alike,” Babu stated.
Babu’s response regarding the meeting organized by his party leader and President Ruto comes just days after he, together with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, skipped the session.
Emabakasi East MP and Sifuna Snub Meeting
President William Ruto had convened a joint Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting between the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) on August 18, 2025, at the KCB Leadership Centre in Karen, Nairobi.
The meeting was aimed at fostering collaboration between UDA and ODM under the framework of a broad-based government partnership.
Babu and Sifuna have been among the dissenting voices within ODM who have been critical of the broad-based government and the Kenya Kwanza administration.
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The duo has publicly expressed reservations about ODM’s partnership with Kenya Kwanza, particularly the integration of ODM members into Ruto’s government. This partnership, formalized through a 10-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March 2025, aimed to foster national unity and address issues like economic recovery and electoral reforms.
However, Babu and Sifuna have viewed this collaboration as a betrayal of ODM’s opposition principles.
The duo, notably absent from the meeting, signaled their disapproval of the deepening ties between ODM and Kenya Kwanza.
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