Ruto tours Busia in scaled-up efforts to consolidate Western vote

Deputy President William Ruto will on Friday be in Busia to popularise his bottom-up economic model.

The tour is part of his five-day campaign in Raila Odinga's Nyanza and Western turfs which began on Wednesday.

The DP will be at Mungatsi Technical Training Institute in Nambale sub-county where he will address an economic forum.

Local leaders gunning for elective seats on parties affiliated with Kenya Kwanza are expected to attend the forum.

ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya's Moses Wetangula are among Kenya Kwanza's high ranking officials also expected to address the one-day meeting.

Other leaders in attendance include Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, former Teso South MP Mary Emase, former Budalangi MP Ababu Namwamba and Busia county UDA coordinator Susan Mangeni.

Teso North UDA MP hopeful John Imoite and Matayos UDA MP aspirant Joe Khalende are also in attendance.

Nambale, where the DP will be, is represented in Parliament by John Bunyasi who is serving his second term as MP.

The UDA boss will also hold public rallies to drum up support for his presidential bid.

The latest opinion polls indicate that the second in command has a slight edge against his rival Raila with less than 100 days to the August 9 General Election.

According to the latest Tifa poll, 39 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Ruto as President while 32 per cent said they preferred the Azimio presidential flagbearer.

The research agency said on Thursday the gap between the two top contenders had narrowed since its last poll in February.

The February poll said Ruto was the preferred presidential candidate at 38.7 per cent while Raila was at 27 per cent.