President William Ruto and ODM leader Oburu Oginga are set to hold a three-day retreat with governors, deputy governors and Members of Parliament to map out how they will win the 2027 presidential election.
A memorandum dated August 4, 2026, from National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohammed says the meeting will take place in Naivasha. The memo, which Mohammed sent to Oburu and Minority Whip Millie Odhiambo, invited all elected leaders who back the broad-based government formed by Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and ODM.
The retreat is scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 9, 2026, and run through Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Parliamentary business and inter-party or coalition affairs will feature prominently on the agenda.
The gathering comes as the Kenya Kwanza administration faces intensified pressure from the United Opposition and the emerging Linda Mwananchi movement. Both blocs have stepped up campaigns aimed at denying Ruto a second term, portraying him as unelectable and beyond redemption.
Party sources told reporters that Ruto and Oburu will use the retreat to formally kick off work on the election manifesto and to settle the contentious issue of the running mate.
An ODM Party source familiar with the planning of the retreat said there is no time to waste as opposition parties prepare for the 2027 General Election. The source added that Ruto’s side plans to put its own house in order by resolving sticking issues and presenting a united front.
The retreat is expected to take Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and ODM’s partnership a decisive step further by officially launching talks on a joint 2027 election manifesto. The decision to draft a shared policy platform signals that the parties have moved beyond cooperation under the broad-based government formed in 2025. Instead, they appear to be laying the groundwork for a longer-term political alliance that could face the 2027 polls on a common agenda.
In recent weeks, Oburu announced that both ODM and UDA appointed five-member technical teams that have already started drafting the manifesto. The parties expect to complete the document before the end of the year. The announcement follows months of uncertainty over the reconstitution of the negotiating committee, a process that stalled amid internal consultations, competing interests, and intense lobbying over membership.
Unlike earlier cooperation that centered on governance arrangements, the latest talks point toward a more formal electoral partnership. Rather than campaign separately and negotiate after an election, ODM and UDA plan to present Kenyans with a single governing blueprint.
“Our first objective is to obtain political power. Now that we are in power, even though we joined through the window, and we are talking with President Ruto face to face, we are planning to obtain power through the main door so that we have an even greater voice within government,” Oburu said.
The meeting will also seek to settle the dispute over who should serve as Ruto’s deputy president if he wins a second term. ODM has recently intensified its push for the position, which currently goes to Kithure Kindiki from the Mt. Kenya East region.
The post Ruto, Oburu Naivasha Retreat to Tackle 2027 Manifesto and Running Mate Debate appeared first on Bossnana.
