The Luo Council of Elders, Nairobi Chapter, has endorsed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's decision to work with President William Ruto.
The elders, led by their chairperson Tom Odongo on Saturday, led a delegation of representatives drawn from the 17 constituencies in Nairobi in a stakeholder participation forum where they unanimously agreed to support Mr Odinga in his quest to unite the country.
“We have in this regard reached the inescapable conclusion that Rt. Hon. Amollo Odinga being our supreme and only leader will give is direction and that which we will follow: but it is clear to us that this direction will be to align ourselves with H.E. President William Samoei Ruto. In doing so we urgent Rt. Hon.
"Raila Odinga to be mindful of the concerns of Kenyans which he has so ably articulated in the last two days as he listens to his supporters on the way forward,” Mr Odongo said.
Members of the Luo Council of Elders, Nairobi Branch follow proceedings during a public baraza held at Makongeni Social Hall on March 01, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu| Nation Media Group
During the forum, the elders also called upon Mr Odinga to move forward and create coalitions with like-minded political leaders to tackle the problems that are facing the country.
“Again, we urged our leaders to be practical and open minded and go for what works for the community. We have heard some of our people saying, you can't form a coalition with this or that party because we are not like-minded. We believe those people are wrong. Coalition partners don't have to be like-minded.
"Coalitions are formed to move the country forward and tackle the pressing issues that the people want to be addressed. We hope our leaders can get this clear,” he added.
The elders have also called upon Mr Odinga to carefully evaluate the political figures that he will be making a coalition with to avoid making political mistakes ahead of the 2027 election.
“We agreed that as we have always been open to working with other communities, we must continue doing that. But as we do that, this time around we must consider the history of communities and individuals we seek to work with, going forward. We must ask, what is the history of our past relationship with this community or individual? What has been the attitude of this community or individual towards us? Has this community or individual ever supported us? Have they ever sacrificed for us? Can we trust them to keep their word? Have they ever done so before,” the elders said.
The elders are expected to move across the 17 constituencies to unite the Luo community and ensure that Mr Odinga is supported in his quest to move the country forward.
