{"id":111776,"date":"2025-03-11T16:03:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T16:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/03\/11\/raila-says-stance-on-ruto-taxes-unchanged-as-he-defends-pact-with-uda\/"},"modified":"2025-03-11T16:03:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T16:03:15","slug":"raila-says-stance-on-ruto-taxes-unchanged-as-he-defends-pact-with-uda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/raila-says-stance-on-ruto-taxes-unchanged-as-he-defends-pact-with-uda\/","title":{"rendered":"Raila says stance on Ruto taxes unchanged as he defends pact with UDA"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 11 \u2013 Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has dismissed claims that he has abandoned his supporters following his recent cooperation with President William Ruto.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Odinga insisted his political stance on Ruto\u2019s tax policies remains unchanged despite forging an alliance with the President.<\/p>\n

Speaking during a burial ceremony in Kiambu County on Tuesday, Odinga addressed growing concerns among his supporters, who believe his engagement with the Kenya Kwanza administration signals a shift in allegiance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow there are a lot of people making noise, saying that I have gone to Ruto and left them,\u201d Odinga said in apparet refrence to a heckling incident in Kisii on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t left you; I haven\u2019t gone to Ruto. My political stand has not changed,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Odinga said his engagement with the government is solely aimed at addressing key national issues, including governance, taxation, and economic hardships affecting Kenyans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have said that issues of importance must be sorted out, and that is why I have remained there until everything is resolved,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis cannot happen unless people come together to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ODM leader, whose loyalists joined Ruto\u2019s Cabinet after the June 2025 Gen Z-led anti-tax protets, reassured his supporters that his focus remains on advocating for policies that alleviate the burden on ordinary citizens, particularly in taxation and public service delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cElections will come in 2027, and Kenyans will decide on their own,\u201d Odinga said. \u201cWe no longer want Kenyans to continue suffering. The healthcare system has issues\u2014SHA is not working, and it needs to be fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reform promise <\/h2>\n

Odinga further criticized the Housing Levy and high taxes imposed on Kenyans, stating that these policies require urgent review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe taxes Kenyans are paying are too high, and even the housing program is problematic. These issues need to be sorted, and they can\u2019t be addressed if I\u2019m not involved. I have to be in for it to work,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

His remarks came amid mounting criticism, after ODM signed a cooperation pact with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) on Friday.<\/p>\n

Ruto and Odinga defended the agreement, which has drawn mixed reactions, as a failproof mechanism to foster bipartisan engagement on key national issues, including economic reforms, governance, and constitutional amendments.<\/p>\n

Odinga has maintained that his involvement is purely issue-based, dismissing speculation that he is aligning himself with the government for political advantage.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 11 \u2013 Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has dismissed claims that he has abandoned his supporters following his recent cooperation with President William Ruto. Odinga insisted his political stance on Ruto\u2019s tax policies remains unchanged despite forging an alliance with the President. Speaking during a burial ceremony in Kiambu County […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111776\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}