Opposition chief Raila Odinga has moved to consolidate his Coast stronghold, lining up a four-day relentless charm offensive – only three weeks after sweeping through the restless Western region.
Raila will visit three counties – Taita Taveta, Kwale and Tana River – a week before President Uhuru Kenyatta tours the Coast in what is shaping up as a do-or-die battle for the 12th general election.
Uhuru will visit Kwale, Lamu and Kilifi as he woos the region, which is turning into a battleground a year before the August 8 polls.
A detailed itinerary of the ODM supremo’s tour seen exclusively by the Star indicates Raila is scheduled to meet, among others, the Council of Imams and Scholars, a national network of influential Muslim leaders.
Raila will also meet the Kwale Council of Elders, the giant teachers unions Knut and Kuppet, and address the Law Society of Kenya Annual Conference at Leisure Lodge.
He is also scheduled to open ODM offices, meet the party’s grassroots leaders and address a series of public rallies in what appears to be a counterstrategy to take the war to the rebels’ doorstep.
Raila’s spokesman Dennis Onyango confirmed yesterday that the visit was on.
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President Kenyatta is expected to storm the Coast next week and will open the Mombasa Agricultural Show.
Kilifi, Kwale and Lamu are regions traditionally known as opposition bastions. The President’s visit has been branded a development tour.
The President is scheduled to launch several infrastructure projects, including the Samburu-Kinango-Kwale road and the Vanga-Lunga Lunga road.
He is also slated to launch the Shimoni Fishing Port and inspect the upgrading of the Ukunda airstrip, as well as the rehabilitated Kongowea Market.
He will open the Huduma Centre-Lamuas and health centres in Faza, Mpeketoni and King Fahd.
A number of ODM legislators led by Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro have rebelled against Cord and vowed to rally Coast to the ruling Jubilee Coalition’s standard.
At least 16 MPs met Uhuru at State House on August 4, 2016, to strategise ahead of his Coast visit.
But Raila’s allies, led by Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, are already spoiling for a fight, signalling a possible spat with Jubilee should they share a podium.
“I heard they [Jubilee] announced they are coming back here. We are watching and waiting for them. This time we will tell them to their face, no fearing anyone...You can’t be in government, do nothing for us, only to resurface close to the general election and say you want to meet Coast leaders,” Joho said on Friday last week.
In January, Joho, who is also Raila’s deputy in ODM, told Uhuru to his face he was in the opposition to stay and protested for allegedly being snubbed by the Head of State in his own county.
According to the itinerary, Raila’s first stop will be in Taveta, where his key allies, Governor John Mruttu and Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu, are battling for the Taita Taveta gubernatorial position.
Mwadeghu is Cord’s Minority whip in the National Assembly, a powerful position within the opposition.
ODM has been rocked by divisions in the region, following last year’s disputed party grassroots elections, and has two factions, one led by Mruttu and the other by Mwadeghu.
In Taveta, Raila will meet ODM and other community based grassroots leaders from various sectors.
Thereafter, he will meet Knut and Kuppet branch officials.
The teachers, especially Knut, have had a poisoned relationship with the Jubilee administration.
Last year, teachers openly accused the State of influencing the Court of Appeal decision to quash their 50-60 per cent pay rise after weeks of a legal duel.
Raila is expected to conclude his Taveta tour by addressing a public rally before departing for Ukunda, Kwale county.
His itinerary indicates he has a scheduled private function on Thursday morning before opening an ODM office in Ukunda, followed by a meeting of local leaders.
The ODM leader will then meet the Council of Imams and Scholars at Diana Forest Lodge, before departing for Lunga Lunga.
Lunga Lunga MP Khatib Mwashetani (Ford-Kenya) is among the Coast Cord rebel legislators who have been laying siege on the opposition.
Once in the region, Raila will deliver a roadside address at Kikoneni and later a massive rally at Lunga Lunga.
On Friday, he will start his day with an address to the Law Society of Kenya Annual Conference at Leisure Lodge.
He will then meet the Kwale Council of Elders, preside over the presentation of a school bus to Gongwe Secondary School in Ukunda and later meet Knut and Kuppet branch officials.
On Saturday, Raila will meet opinion leaders in Galole, Tana River county, and later in the day meet Knut and Kuppet executive committee officials.
He will then hold a rally at the Hola Stadium before departing for Garsen for another meeting with opinion leaders, followed by a rally at the Garsen Stadium.
The Coast whirlwind tour is the second in a series of planned activities the ODM leader has lined up before he formally launches his 2017 presidential campaign.
Last month, Raila stamped his authority on Western against the Jubilee onslaught and resignations during a five-day massive charm offensive that saw him rejuvenate his grassroots networks.
Raila scoured many villages in Western to re-position ODM as the region’s choice after top party officials led by Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba resigned from their positions.
Last week, Raila met Governor Mruttu, Mwadeghu, Mwatate MP Andrew Mwadime, Voi MP Jones Mlolwa and Taita Taveta woman representative Joyce Lay at his office in Nairobi.
However, Taita Taveta Senator Dan Mwazo was conspicuously absent.
Questions have been raised on several occasions whether Mwazo is still loyal to ODM, since he has skipped most of Raila’s meetings in the region.