ODM-UDA PACT: POLICE BRUTALITY PERSISTS DESPITE M.O.U DEAL

OPPOSITION DEMANDS ICC PROBE OVER KILLINGS.

OPPOSITION PLANS TO PETITION ICC, RUTO BLAMED FOR KILLINGS.

Since President William Ruto and ODM party leader Raila Odinga signed a memorandum of understanding (mou) on 7th March 2025 at KICC. One of the agendas was to end police brutality, killings, and abductions and to ensure compensation for victims of particularly those injured or killed in the 2024 protests. But the promises appear broken. No compensation has been issued and the killings have not only continued they have escalated.

On 7 march 2025, president William ruto and odm party leader raila odinga stood side by side at kicc where they signed a memorandum of understanding (mou) which declared that every kenyan has the constitutional right to peaceful assembly. It codemned police brutality, killings and pledged to ensure compesation of 2024 protest victims

“We understand that this moment is unlike any other,” said President Ruto in his remarks.

“It is not enough to merely identify systemic and cultural obstacles that have denied generations a fair chance to achieve their aspirations. More importantly, we must rise above the political differences and embrace a higher vision of the Kenya we all deserve.”

“As leaders of the largest political parties in the country, we arrived at the understanding that in a time of significant challenges to our nation, it is not enough to merely grandstand or stand aside and criticize, easy as those may be,” Raila said.

But just three months later, the promises appear broken. No compensation has been issued, and the killings have escalated. According to the independent medico-legal unit (imlu), at least 161 brutal incidents have been documented since june 2024.

The latest fatality, reported on june 17, 2025, involved a hawker selling masks who was shot at point-blank range by a masked police officer following demonstrations over the death of a teacher and blogger albert ojwang in police custody. These events have triggered a wave of public outrage and reignited the question: was the mou just a smokescreen?

Odm secretary general edwin sifuna declared the truce with uda “meaningless” in light of the resurgent killings. Sifuna questioned how the state could commit to peace, then continue to abduct and kill innocent youth.

“If you ask me as Sifuna, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of the Orange Democratic Party and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is of no use as I speak today. We agreed that young people will not be killed, and a young man is picked from their homestead and murdered in a police cell. The other day, we saw two other young people from Elgeyo Marakwet beaten and thrown in Nakuru, and another one in the Katitu police station. That’s why I am saying that MOU has no use,” he declared.

People’s liberation party leader martha karua has strongly condemned the shooting of a man by police in nairobi’s cbd during demonstrations over the death of teacher and blogger albert ojwang. Reacting to a video that shows the moment the man was shot, karua termed the killing as “another extrajudicial execution.”

“How many deaths will it take for you to stop this,” karua posed to the national police service.

The united opposition has accused president william ruto’s administration of overseeing extrajudicial killings, deploying rogue police units and forming illegal alliances with gangs. The opposition bloc now says it is compiling evidence for submission to the international criminal court (icc), seeking to have president ruto held accountable for alleged crimes against humanity.

“With Dr. Ruto’s checkered past with forceful land displacements, we want to remind him that such acts are crimes against humanity and we are committed to escalating these cases to the international criminal court (icc),” the statement read in part.

“What we are witnessing today is the rise of a gangster regime that has no regard for human life, no respect for the rule of law and no commitment to the constitution,” the statement read in part.

What began as a moment of reconciliation at kicc has, in the eyes of many, deteriorated into a crisis of trust. With no victims compensated, over 160 cases recorded, and youths still dying, the mou now stands not as a document of hope but as a symbol of betrayal.