We'll Form Next Gov't with Raila but He Must Keep Off CDF, William Ruto's Ally
- UDA’s Vincent Kawaya publicly clashed with Raila Odinga over calls to abolish the NG-CDF, warning the move risked angering MPs across the political divide
- The Mwala MP insisted ODM and UDA had already agreed to uphold the funds through the NADCO report, making Raila’s latest stance contradictory
- Kawaya maintained that the broad-based pact between Ruto and Raila remained firm, boldly predicting their alliance would secure power again in 2027
- He dismissed proposals to hand CDF to counties, arguing governors had failed to account for billions and could not be trusted with the allocations
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Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) National Organising Secretary Vincent Kawaya has differed with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Leader Raila Odinga over plans to abolish the National Government Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDF).
Source: Facebook
ODM and UDA, which were fierce rivals in the 2022 presidential race, shelved their rivalry to form a broad-based government after President William Ruto and Raila in March 2025, a move that shook Kenya's political system.
Kawaya, who is also MP for Mwala, reiterated that the broad-based pact between Ruto's Kenya Kwanza and Raila's ODM was intact and would likely be the joint winning team in the 2027 presidential election.
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"The broad-based government is strong and will be strong in 2027. I'm sure we'll form the next government with Raila by fire by force," said Kawaya.
Why should Raila be cautious?
The MP said that Raila should tread carefully lest he rattled legislators and constituents who understand the transformation that the funds allocated to the constituencies have brought.
"The discussion on NG-CDF scrapping is a no-go zone, you'll have crossed the red line and so keep off that topic," Kawaya counselled Raila.
He rubbished proposals to transfer NG-CDF to county governments, saying the fund was not drawn from county allocations.
Kawaya questioned the effectiveness of governors using the funds to address the needs of the constituents.
"It's called the National Government CDF because it's a central government allocation, not counties. The national government chose to use 2.5% of it's allocation on this fund and the governors, most of who have failed to account for billions can't be entrusted with the averagely KSh 100 million constituencies get," Kawaya reiterated.
What did UDA-ODM lawmakers talk about?
He argued that Raila's stance towards abolishing the NG-CDF was a delicate and sensitive topic, but that would not warrant a split between the ODM leader and majority MPs in UDA and across the political divide.
During a boda boda empowerment meeting at Kabati on Wednesday, August 20, Kawaya firmly opposed Raila's calls to do away with CDF.
He stated that the ODM leader's position contradicted the agreements made in the Monday, August 18, joint parliamentary meeting with UDA.
Source: Getty Images
According to Kawaya, during the Monday meeting, ODM and UDA legislators unanimously agreed to adopt and fully implement the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, which was developed by a team formulated by Ruto and Raila in 2023.
"The NADCO report supports NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund and the National Government Affirmative Fund. It would be contradictory for Raila to say he opposes NG-CDF yet the report we agreed to implement endorsed the upholding of the funds," he posed.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
