Local Migori county politics have played out ahead of Saturday's visit by President William Ruto as governor Ochillo Ayacko is set to skip his tour.
Ruto is currently visiting the South Nyanza region and preparation is in top gear for his Saturday visit to the county, but Ayacko has said he will not be attending.
Speaking to the press in his official residence on Thursday, Ayacko termed the visit as not inclusive saying he has not been formally invited and is only seeing and reading about the itinerary on media.
“I want to state clearly that as a governor I have not been formally communicated by anybody about the president’s visit and as a holder of constitutional office it is not possible for me to attend those functions,” he said.
Ayacko said Ruto is free to visit any part of the country and invite whoever he wants but he won’t be there as the head of county government.
“It will be improper to inflict my presence in the meeting because protocol will ensure I know the agenda and sitting arrangements, I don’t want a situation where there can be fallout which I won’t be responsible for,” Ayacko said.
While Ayacko was speaking, Migori county commissioner Meru Mwangi was meeting with both Abuor and Nyamita to check on the sites of the visits and make final preparations.
“The commissioner was to brief me over the visit, but he didn’t. The meeting will not have inclusivity,” Ayacko said.
In Migori, Ruto is set to be hosted by two United Democratic Alliance (UDA) legislators Kuria West MP Mathias Robi and his Kuria East counterpart Marwa Kitayama from the minority Kuria community where the majority of voters voted for him.
He will launch the construction of the Motemorabu-Suba-Kuria-Nyangonga-Nyankore-Gitonga-Masaba road in Kuria West and launch the completion of the Tarang’anya-Ntimaru-Nyamtiro-Senta-Kegonga-Loliondo road.
Ruto is expected to be hosted by two ODM legislators; Nyamita for the launching of tarmacking of the Stella-Gogo Falls-Oyani Ring road and Abuor for launching 21 kilometres Nyarach-Oboke-Rangwe road.
Ayacko took a dig at the visit and insisted that ongoing mass action calls will continue until the cost of living is brought down.
“I hope Ruto’s visit will lower the cost of living and bring our people from being captive of poverty, I hope it will also create harmony,” Ayacko said.
The governor said the demonstration is in the constitution and if the government feels anybody has broken any law to go to the streets they are free to charge them in a court of law.
The tension between Pro-Ruto and Pro-Raila leaders has played out in several public functions including a funeral in the Uriri constituency where supporters of Nyamita and Ayacko clashed.
