Deputy President William Ruto’s Luo Nyanza tour starts today, but do you know that MPs allied to Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday warned that Ruto’s Nyanza ‘development tour’ could ignite tension and undermine the handshake?
The politicians led by ODM chairman John Mbadi and his Suna East counterpart Junet Mohamed said Ruto was exploiting the tranquility created by the handshake pact to further his political agenda, a run for State House in 2022.
Nyanza is Raila’s backyard but with peace prevailing, the DP is making his debut tour of Migori and Homa Bay counties to launch projects and market his candidacy, but will Nyanza voters be convinced to vote him in come 2022?
The MPs urged the DP to stop subjecting the country to a perpetual campaign mode through his ‘tangatanga’ tours couched as visits to promote the Big Four. President Uhuru Kenyatta has repeatedly called for an end to politicking and a focus on development.
“The handshake between Raila and Uhuru was meant to quell tension after the divisive general election. Those exploiting this calm to push their agenda are against the direction of peace,” Mbadi warned.
“DP Ruto is welcome in Nyanza but I can’t attend the function because I don’t know his agenda,” Mbadi said.
Junet, a close Raila ally and strategist, said ODM leaders in the county have not been invited on the tour that he said was all about 2022.
The March 9 unity handshake has brought about stability essential for Ruto’s tour of Nyanza.
Ordinarily, Ruto — Raila’s nemesis would not set foot there because of bitter rivalry extending to Raila’s supporters.
On Friday, Ruto held a symbolic meeting with Raila at the DP’s official Karen residence, apparently to send signals of unity to supporters.
The meeting, which was attended by President Kenyatta, was billed as a lunchtime catch-up but analysts called it a calculated move to cement the Raila-Uhuru handshake with Ruto.
The optics of the landmark luncheon, the first by the trio since Raila was named AU High Representative for Infrastructure in Africa, would also project camaraderie and presumably tone down antagonism.
A tenacious and strategic politician, Ruto is keen to leverage the handshake deal to penetrate Raila’s Nyanza bedrock. Ruto and Raila have often been bitterly at odds since Ruto’s dramatic exit from ODM in 2011.
As he traverses the Nyanza region, will he manage to sway Raila allies to vote for his presidential candidature?