Deputy President William Ruto has made a last ditch attempt to secure the minority Kuria community votes from sustained political onslaught by his key rivals.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Ruto made stopovers in Kegonga and Mabera area in Kuria East and Kuria West constituencies and asked the community to vote for him in the August 9 polls.
He was hosted by Kuria East MP Marwa Kitayama and Kuria West MP Mathias Robi, two key allies from the community, which accounts for 25 per cent of about 400,000 Migori votes.
They were also accompanied by Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru, Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi and Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang'ula, among others.
Ruto also criticised Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta in his speeches, saying the two leaders were behind the inflation in the country and were daydreaming to think he could be rigged out.
“You should not be afraid, nobody will steal hustlers votes and those pushing this agenda are daydreaming," Ruto said.
The UDA presidential candidate said there is no 'deep state' he doesn't know, since he is the DP.
He promises to give the Kuria people their own county, if elected.
In the 2017 polls, whose results were nullified by the Supreme Court, Uhuru garnered 41,951 votes (65 per cent of the cast votes) while Nasa presidential flagbearer Raila garnered 21,202 votes (34 per cent of the cast votes) in Kuria.
The results were the same in the 2013 general election, something that the DP is keen to capitalise on.
"Ruto has walked with the Kuria community in the past ten years, both in development and culturally when he ensured we had the first Abakuria Bible. We wont leave him for a political tourist," Kitayama said.
But an onslaught from the Principal Secretary for State Department for Social Protection Nelson Marwa and nominated MP Dennnitah Ghati has derailed Ruto's grip of the area.
The two installed Raila as a Kuria elder in Kehancha town earlier this year and have been key in sponsoring Azimio candidates.
While Ruto's team have worked on rallies and tagging several Jubilee projects in the community, the Azimio wing has been keen in organising political leaders, professionals, business people, youths, women and activists from the community to form campaign units.
“The Kuria community must remain in government. We are here to say thanks and show our support to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga for the handshake. As a community, we are solidly behind the two leaders,” Marwa said in a statement read on behalf of the group.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
