• Lusaka assured his supporters that nothing will stop him from vying for the Bungoma governor's seat.
• Wetang'ula has been campaigning for him.
Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka has said he is firmly in the Bungoma governor's race.
He said he had not bolted out due to pressure from some quarters as is being claimed by his opponents.
Lusaka on Wednesday assured his supporters that nothing will stop him from vying for the Bungoma governor's seat.
"I'm aware that out of desperation, our opponents have come up with all manner of propaganda, including suggestions that I will not run," he said.
Lusaka said some people were peddling rumours that he would be contesting the senator's seat.
"Others are saying that I will run as a senator. Treat all that as rubbish. I'm in the race to be governor of Bungoma, period," he said.
He appealed to his supporters to ignore the rest and focus on the goal.
Lusaka has been largely associating with Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula, who has declared him the Ford Kenya candidate.
Wetang'ula has been campaigning for him.
Lusaka, has however not declared the political party on which he will use to recapture the seat which he lost in 2017 to Governor Wycliffe Wangamati.
He asked his opponents to stop panicking but prepare to face him on the ballot.
He has established a campaign centre in the heart of Bungoma town, complete with staff members.
Lusaka said they had realised he was a force to reckon with and that is why they were manufacturing propaganda to sway his supporters.
During a recent tour of Bungoma by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, speaker after speaker said they had been sent by Lusaka with greetings amid cheers from the crowd.
Governor Wangamati is also seeking to defend his seat on DAP-K.
Last week during a DAP-K rally at Posta grounds, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya asked Lusaka to shelve his ambitions of unseating Wangamati, promising that Azimio government would give him a job.
"Let Lusaka drop his bid for governor and instead support Wangamati to finish his term as we shall give him a ministerial post when Raila Odinga forms the next government," he said.
Political observers have opined that the race could be a rematch of the 2017 general election between Lusaka and Wangamati.
"It will be interesting to watch a rematch between the duo but this time with different uniforms," political analyst Maurice Nyaranga said last month.
Lusaka vied on the Jubilee ticket in the last election, while Wangamati used the Ford Kenya ticket.
Wangamati has said he has initiated more projects compared to Lusaka's regime.
Edited by A.N