Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

- ODM leader Raila Odinga has once again trained his guns on President William Ruto’s administration.

The former prime minister accused Ruto's administration of sabotaging devolution by centralising development projects such as the Affordable Housing Programme.

During the funeral of Francis Ngaru, husband to former Thika Mayor Mumbi Ngaru on Friday, May 2, Raila reiterated his belief that the future of Kenya lies in a fully empowered devolved system.

In a pointed criticism of Ruto's Affordable Housing agenda, Raila argued that the project, widely touted by the Ruto administration as a transformative national initiative, should be under the jurisdiction of county governments.

According to the veteran opposition leader, the continued involvement of the national government in grassroots development is undermining the constitutional spirit of devolution.

He urged the national government to relinquish control of such functions and instead transfer the corresponding funds to county governments.

"Why should you be building markets for counties? Let the counties build the markets themselves. How about affordable housing? Let the counties build affordable housing. Then you will not be talking about 15%. You will be talking about 35-40% devolved funds. Then you can blame the governors if they are not working. So let devolution work," Raila declared.

Citing the roles of various road agencies such as the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), he argued that only one national road agency, KeNHA, should remain, with the rest of the road management functions devolved.

Raila further warned MPs against any attempts to amend the constitution for what he termed narrow ends.

Referring to a recent gazette notice proposing constitutional amendments to legalise the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the ODM leader said such moves were regressive and risked clawing back the gains made through devolution.

"Finally, I want to say that Parliament must not try to change the constitution because of narrow ends. The constitution that we brought here brought devolution. Devolution needs to be defended," the former premier stated.

Beyond the criticism, Raila's tone was one of unity and caution as he warned Kenyans not to take peace for granted, invoking examples from troubled nations such as Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.

He urged for political tolerance and constructive discourse, especially as the country moves closer to the 2027 general election.

"I want us to be united as a people. Kenya is much more important than any one of us. If Kenya burns, we'll have no country. You've seen around us, Somalia from 1991 up to today, is in turmoil. Look at South Sudan, look at DRC, look at Ethiopia, and so are the countries around us here. It is better to have peace that we are having here and push and go and have a peaceful election than to have turmoil in this country. Because when it disrupts, you don't know the end. That is the message that I want to convey here," Raila stated, drawing applause from mourners gathered in Thika.

Earlier, Raila defended governors James Orengo and Anyang' Nyong'o, along with Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna, for their recent criticisms of Ruto's administration.

Despite ODM's memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ruto's UDA party, Raila emphasised that his party is not part of the government and that the agreement focuses on ten specific national issues.

He stated that the leaders' criticisms align with the MoU and the democratic principles of ODM, asserting they have committed no wrongdoing.

Source: TUKO.co.ke