• Mudavadi will on Sunday attend two church services.
• The tour comes barely three weeks after he toured the Coastal City of Mombasa.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Amani National Congress party leader Musalia Mudavadi is on a two-day charm offensive in bid to eat into Deputy President William Ruto’s support base ahead of the August 2022 presidential race.
The Presidential hopeful is expected to pitch camp in Nakuru county on Saturday and Sunday as he tries to penetrate the region considered as DP’s stronghold.
The soft spoken former deputy prime minister in the grand coalition government will on Saturday have a meeting with Governor Lee Kenyanjui, who will thereafter take him on a tour of county development projects.
Later in the afternoon, Mudavadi, who has anchored his 2022 campaigns on rebuilding the economy, is expected to hold consultative meetings with key influencers from the county including business and political leaders.
“Mudavadi has anchored his 2022 political journey around rebuilding a resilient economy and ensuring peace and stability. His Nakuru tour is expected to bolster his message on the resuscitation of the economy and the management of public debt as he aims to be handed the mandate by Kenyans to fix this come 2022,” a statement from his office said.
“Businesses have closed down or so downsized putting close to 2.5 million Kenyans out of employment. Five million more who depended on SMEs are out of livelihood. Government cannot afford and owes suppliers billions of shillings. Counties do not receive their share to run their respective activities on time. This will also form part of my conversation with the people of Nakuru,” the statement added.
Mudavadi who is among the leading political heavyweights in the One Kenya Alliance will on Sunday attend two church services starting at NEEMA PCEA 8:30am and at St Peters Catholic Church, Lanet.
After the two church services ,Mudavadi is set to meet representatives from communities in the cosmopolitan county.
“Nakuru City recently obtained City status and my mission in Nakuru this weekend is to understand the challenges facing the community and discuss opportunities for achieving economic growth in the area,” Mudavadi said adding: “We need to work together to craft sustainable solutions to heal our hemorrhaging economy and create jobs for our people.”
The tour comes barely three weeks after he toured the Coastal City of Mombasa where he engaged various local leaders and residents urging them to support his presidential bid.
“What will be the policies that leaders will be putting on the table ahead of 2022 elections? The economic policy, the governance agenda, the agricultural framework and the youth agenda among others. These are the questions that Kenyans should be asking themselves as we approach the electioneering period for them to make wise and informed decisions when that time comes.” the statement said.
ANC deputy party leader and Lugari MP Ayub Savula said Mudavadi has been invited by his supporters in the county who believe he is the best bet to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Savula, who spoke to the Star on the phone, said they have embarked on a charm offensive in the larger Mt Kenya region as the seek to dethrone DP Ruto who enjoys support in the vote rich region.
“Mudavadi has not organised the events but he has been invited by a section of Kikuyu people living in Rift Valley who support his 2022 presidential bid,” he said.
He added, “In essence what we are doing , we are fighting to get Ruto out of the Central community fraternity both in Rift Valley and in Mt Kenya. That is what we are targeting. Mt Kenya is very receptive of us. Our competitor in Central is Ruto and we are targeting to root him out of Mt Kenya.”