 Riruako was a member of the Constitutional Council from 1986 to 1987 and was first elected to the National Assembly of Namibia as a candidate of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) in 1994.In September 2003, NUDO withdrew from the DTA, with Riruako accusing the DTA of failing to work for Herero interests; Riruako became President of NUDO as an independent party on 18 September 2003, and he resigned from the National Assembly in the same month.He was subsequently elected as a NUDO candidate in the November 2004 parliamentary election and served for a second period in the National Assembly beginning on 20 March 2005.