Deputy President William Ruto will on Tuesday wrap up his coastal tour by taking his 2022 bottom-up economic model crusade to Lamu county.
The DP is expected to traverse the island with meetings at Mpeketoni, Kizingitini and Mkungini where he will preside over women, youth and small-scale traders.
The DP who will be hosted by Lamu East MP Athman Sharif and county senator Anuar Loitiptip will also drum up support for the United Democratic Alliance Party.
It's not clear if Lamu West MP Stanley Muthama and governor Fahim Twaha will also accompany the DP in his campaign stop overs.
The DP who has launched spirited campaign to make inroads in the perceived ODM stronghold kicked off his seven-day tour in Taita Taveta on Thursday.
On Friday, he hit the road in Kwale and Kilifi counties and on Saturday and Sunday, camped in Mombasa.
On Monday he held a meeting with UDA aspirants from Kwale, Tana River, Mombasa ,Lamu and Kilifi at Wild Waters and later in the afternoon presided over women and boda boda operators at Kaloleni, Kilifi county.
In the meeting with the aspirants, the DP assured them that there will be no preferred candidates in the UDA party primaries saying all candidates will be exposed to a competitive process.
He explained that even the sitting MCAs, MPs, senators and governors will get no favours from the party.
“There will be no free rides,” he insisted.
The DP who was accompanied by 14 MPs from the region said he was committed to building a formidable national party.
“We assure the country of free, fair and democratic nominations,” he said.
He noted that UDA had already conducted more than five nominations for different seats in the country.
“We have drawn lessons from them. We will continue to ensuring that high standards on nominations are adhered to.”
At the same time, Ruto warned those planning to use violence in the primaries, noting that they will be disqualified.
“Let every candidate sell their ideas and agendas freely. Anyone who uses violence, especially against women and youth, will not be part of our political fabric,” Ruto said.
He added that UDA was not an outfit for hooligans but one that brings together progressive ideas to transform Kenya.
“We have made a deliberate policy decision that will advance the interests of disadvantaged candidates; women, youth and the disabled will pay half the nomination fees,” he said.
In Kaloleni, the DP said days were long gone when politics of fear were being sold to Kenyans to tilt their voting patterns. "Kenyans should not buy fear from those who are now engaging in tribal and divisive politics. We can only solve the challenges facing us if we are united. Don't buy fear and intimidations," he said.
Ruto said the hustler movement aims to change the country's economic model from grassroots as opposed to the current up-downwards benefiting few individuals.
He said that the country's priority was not change of the Constitution but addressing unemployment among the youth as well as economic empowerment of small scale traders.
"2022 competition will be about those pushing for the change of Constitution to create positions for few individuals and us who want to change the economic model to economically empower millions of Kenyans," he said.
