UDA paid ODM ‘dowry’, Kuria claims, as he warns NADCO will end like BBI » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 – Former Presidential Economic Advisor Moses Kuria has likened the joint meeting between the legislators from the ruling UDA and the ODM to a “dowry payment,” accusing President William Ruto’s party of buying political peace with Raila Odinga’s camp.

Kuria said he had hoped the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) would pave the way for far-reaching reforms, possibly culminating in a referendum alongside the 2027 General Election.

Instead, he argued, the process has been reduced to a transactional pact between Kenya’s two biggest parties.

“I was clinging to the hope that the NADCO process will culminate in a referendum, most likely as the seventh ballot during the 2027 General Elections,” Kuria said likening the country’s state of politics to “a malignant tumour which we keep trying to heal through anesthesia such as Handshake, broad based etc ad infinitum, ad nauseam.”

“Sadly, what I saw yesterday [Monday] was an otherwise promising national moment being reduced to a dowry paid by UDA to ODM.”

The former Cabinet Secretary argued that neither Azimio’s constituent parties nor Kenya Kwanza affiliates were adequately consulted, suggesting that the engagement risks being perceived as a bilateral deal between the country’s two dominant parties.

BBI replay

He dismissed the arrangement as a replay of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), the 2018 Uhuru Kenyatta–Raila handshake project, which collapsed after being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

 “The last chapter of NADCO will be a replica of BBI,” he warned.

The NADCO process co-chaired by Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, was launched in 2023 to resolve political tensions after months of opposition-led protests.

 It was tasked with reviewing the cost of living, electoral reforms, inclusivity in governance, and the reconstitution of the electoral commission.

Speaking during the meeting President Ruto hailed the engagement as a step in the right direction.

“There is no room for retrogressive politics that has held us hostage and slowed our journey of transformation,” Ruto said.

“The time has come to lead with clarity, conviction, and courage; to show up, to step up, and to drive Kenya’s renaissance with vigour, vision, and purpose.”

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