ODM leader Raila Odinga is set to storm Deputy President William Ruto’s Rift Valley backyard next week to woo the region to back his 2022 bid.
The former Prime Minister has planned a series of activities to market the Azimio la Umoja campaign.
Raila will make his first stop in Turkana where he is expected to meet ODM delegates and address residents.
He will then head to Eldoret to meet party delegates from West Pokot, Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi counties.
The Azimio la Umoja brigade will thereafter head to Nakuru for similar meetings and will be joined by delegates from Kericho and Bomet.
The ODM leader on Wednesday told journalists from FM stations broadcasting in Rift Valley that he plans to conclude the tours by the end of October.
“All the public engagements at the various regions will be completed in October. We have a tight schedule, but I trust we will finish it,” Raila said.
He made his pitch to Rift Valley in his quest for a share of the region’s 4.6 million votes – as per IEBC 2017 elections data.
Ruto, on the other hand, is banking heavily on Rift Valley votes and those of Mt Kenya as a head-start in the quest for a round-one win in 2022.
But the ODM leader exuded confidence that he still commands sizeable support in the region, adding that his 2013 and 2017 backers remain intact.
“I cannot say they have left me. That is propaganda. I have garnered votes there. I got substantive votes in 2013 and 2017 much as it was not like that which I got in 2007,” Raila said.
The Star has established that a section of governors from the region are mobilising people to accord Raila a rousing welcome.
The move, those aware of the machinations say, is to pave the way for Ruto’s smooth tour of perceived ODM strongholds, more so Kisumu.
“We are mobilising. We have MPs helping us reach out to locals too. We want to send a message that anyone can campaign in any part of this country,” a lawmaker told the Star.
The MP said one of his colleagues and a governor - whom Raila backed in 2017 when on the precipice of losing his seat - are leading the mobilisation drive.
Raila last month met delegates from the Maa community in Kajiado, rallying Maasai and Samburu communities to back his bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.
After concluding the engagements in Rift Valley, the ODM train will head to Mt Kenya East where he will meet delegates from Meru, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi.
From Mt Kenya East, the ODM leader will take his troops on a tour of Ukambani to popularise the unity bid and finish with a mega meeting in Nairobi.
Raila said he has no problem with any leader from the region, adding that his differences with Ruto are political.
He dismissed as propaganda claims that he turned his back on the DP in their grand coalition with former President Mwai Kibaki, hence their fallout.
“For a house of many people, it is normal for differences to emerge. But that was at the top, not among wananchi. People who have been corrected have a tendency to seek sympathy from their backyards,” the former PM said.
Raila relived his time in the grand coalition, saying he gave the region the largest share of Cabinet portfolios and would not abandon Rift Valley voters either.
“I want you to know Arap Mibei is still the same. My policies and views for the Kalenjin community remain unchanged. I still have allies but many have given me their backs owing to our political differences,” he said.
Raila urged residents to back his bid, saying the two communities stand to accomplish a lot if they stand together. He further said he has no regrets over the Mau evictions, which cost him politically in 2013.
“I urge that we come together and get to move in one direction, the way we were when there was trouble. You know how things were when we worked together. No one can blame me that I turned my back on them. Let them come so we work together,” the former PM said.
“I released my portfolios and gave Rift Valley five ministers. Nyanza and Western had four each. We worked together very well.”
Raila said he was ready to work with all Kenyans, saying he wouldn’t have a problem working with his competitor DP Ruto.
“I have worked with William Ruto. I made him Agriculture minister, which was the biggest chunk of our Cabinet share in the grand coalition. He ran away.”
“You can give me someone else whom I can work with. Ruto has a democratic right to seek the presidency, hence it is okay if you give me someone else,” the ODM leader said.
He discredited the assertions by Ruto that he delivered the Rift Valley vote in 2007, saying the late Kipkalya Kones steered the team.
“By then, Ruto wanted to be a candidate but shifted to our side during the ODM nominations. Kones then took charge of the South Rift while Ruto was in the North Rift.”
“Nandi had Dr Sally Kosgey and Henry Kosgey, while Musa Sirma took charge of Baringo but we did not form the government 100 per cent, so we were forced to divide the stakes.”
Last Thursday, Raila was the chief guest at the Kanu delegate’s conference, where Baringo Senator Gideon Moi formally unveiled his bid to succeed President Kenyatta.
The ODM leader at the same time unveiled his bag of goodies for the region, promising to turn around the fortunes of farmers and entrepreneurs.
The former PM pledged cheaper seeds for growers, subsidized fertiliser, a tax regime that would reduce prices of animal feeds and other agricultural inputs.
“We have people who don’t consider the plight of farmers who now have no space since silos are filled with imported maize. We will change that if we form the next government,” he said.
Raila also pledged to steer reforms in the sugar sector, emphasising his concerns for the need to revive dead industries in the sugar belt, which Rift Valley is part of.
Although he is yet to formally declare his presidential bid, the ODM leader left no doubt he would be in the race, promising to increase the share of devolved funds to 35 per cent if elected.
“If I get a chance, I will change the share percentage of national revenue. At some point, you will agree that the Uhuru and Ruto administration have refused to increase the revenue share,” Raila said.
Edited by A.N
