Despite president Uhuru Kenyatta's firm rejection of referendum quest, Raila Odinga says the famous handshake is there to stay.
The two leaders reached a compromise in March, a move that ended a long political duel that saw dozens of people lose their lives in 2017.
"I don't have time to run across the country to tell people that we want to change the law. Let us deliver to the people first," Uhuru had said.
So controversial was his statement that a section of ODM leaders directly accused DP William Ruto of inciting the president against the changes.
But in his speech at Mombasa on Thursday which was read by Kisii senator Sam Ongeri, Raila insisted that the handshake is still intact.
"The initiative is still alive and running. Your views and actions will be critical in realisation of our objectives," he said.
Raila added: "We must stand strong as a nation and defend devolution. Nothing has changed because Kenya is bigger than our individual aspirations."
For weeks now, Raila has been embroiled in a war of words with Ruto, who is against planned constitutional changes that would pave way for parliamentary system of government.
On Thursday, Raila jetted to Juba where he was reportedly assigned by Uhuru to mediate talks in the fragile South Sudan.