Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former assistant minister Omingo Magara on Monday buried the hatchet and pledged to work together.

Mr Magara, who has been a fierce critic of Mr Odinga, changed his hard-line position against PM and declared that he would support him from now onwards.

But Mr Odinga said he had never had any problem with Mr Magara and that the former assistant minister’s choice to align himself with forces opposing him was his democratic right. He added that Mr Magara was welcome to the fold.

Mr Magara had hitherto publicly criticised the PM and had allied himself to the Higher Education minister William Ruto, but Friday’s move was seen as a major shift that could signal a change of strategy ahead of the 2012 general elections.

He said: “I realised that I had made a mistake and I am ready to start the journey anew and work with the Prime Minister,” Mr Magara said.

The leaders met during a funeral for South Mugirango ODM aspirant Ibrahim Ochoi.

The High Court nullified Mr Magara’s election at the height of his animosity with the PM. He then decamped to the little-known PDP in a bid to reclaim the seat, but was trounced by Mr Manson Nyamweya of Ford People.

Mr Ochoi was ODM’s candidate in the by-election and came third.

Mr Nyamweya also declared that he was willing to support Mr Odinga for the presidency in 2012, saying that the current political party affiliations should not blur future strategies.

Mr Nyamweya is a close ally of Mr Simeon Nyanchae.

And in what was seen as a bid to reach out to his neighbours, Mr Odinga urged the Gusii community to translate their numerical strength, according to the population census, by registering as voters.

During the occasion, Mr Odinga said he would launch a second round of civic education in the seven counties that came out of the Nyanza Province in a bid to allay some fears about the implications of the new laws.