Deputy President William Ruto will return to the coast for ninth time since the famous handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga on Sunday.
It seems the DP has switched his attention to making inroads in the region which has been a Raila stronghold since 2007. ODM has the largest number of elected leaders in the region but Jubilee won some crucial sits in last year’s elections, a move that has could have convinced Ruto that the region is ripe for the taking.
David Mugonyi, the Director of communications in the DP’s office, said the DP would attend a fundraiser for the translation of the Bible to Giriama at Karisa Maitha grounds in Kilifi Town.
Coast leaders, some of whom have shown warmth to the DP, are expected to make some crucial demands during the visit.
Some of the demands include appointing the residents to senior government positions and tackling the land problem. Kilifi North MP Owen Baya of ODM will be the host.
“Kilifi North has many land problems and I have persistently asked the DP to visit and address this issue. “We need our people to be empowered and given title deeds so that they can develop their lands,” Mr Baya – who has declared his interest for the governorship post in 2022 – said in an interview.
Last week the MP led a section of legislators in slamming opposition leader Raila Odinga for abandoning the region.
Mr Baya, a close ally of Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, said Mr Odinga had continued to ignore the region in terms of bargaining for its interests. Coast region has 1.7 million votes, most of it which went to the opposition, Nasa, in last year’s General Election.
“The people recently appointed by the President are very close to Mr Odinga, which makes us to conclude that the handshake and the continuous relationship with Raila is that we are giving him an opportunity to have his people appointed to the government.
“That now tells us that coast is not part of the plan for ODM and Nasa in general,” he added.
Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire said coast locals must now go after their interests, instead of waiting to be helped. “The failure by the region to bag any appointment is a wake-up call for the region that we should not blindly support people whom we are yet to understand their mission…we should not make ourselves cheap for giving in and supporting people without clear guidelines,” he said.
Similarly, Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga has also thrown barbs at Mr Ruto for failing to endorse locals for State jobs.
Mr Chonga, consequently, said the leaders will form their own party through which they will advance their interests.
Ruto’s visit comes hot on the heels of last weekend’s Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford-Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang’ula’s tours of Kwale and Kilifi counties respectively.
Major political re-alignments are already taking shape ahead of 2022 with Uhuru and Raila both expected to exit active politics.
The major coastal political players Amason Kingi and Joho will also be leaving their posts as governors after the expiry of their terms and are looking at ways that will ensure they remain in politics.
Joho, has remained loyal to Raila and is loved by ODM supporters. He is one of the senior most members of the party and could be fronted as their presidential candidate in 2022. Kingi on the other hand has been lukewarm but insiders reveal he has been in communication with Ruto.