Until 2009, Deputy President William Ruto could tour Nyanza region freely without the fear of being heckled or getting a cold reception.
But his falling out with ODM leader Raila Odinga obliged him avoid the region where Raila has passionate support.
Now, however, the DP is expected to tour Raila’s backyard to drum up support for his hustler movement. That is, if the government will not impose movement restrictions in Nyanza to curb the spread of Covid-19, as alluded to by Interior CS Fred Matiang'i on Wednesday.
The DP’s Nyanza point man Eliud Owalo, a one-time Raila campaign manager, announced Ruto will tour the four counties starting in mid-July.
The DP will begin his tour in Migori and Kisumu in the third week of July.
In the fourth week, Ruto who is marketing his bottom-up economic model, will land in Homa Bay and Siaya counties.
Owalo, a management consultant, on Thursday told the Star, "The people of Nyanza are looking forward to giving the DP a befitting reception.
“The reception the DP got during the Madaraka Day celebrations in Kisumu county was a clear testament to how the people of Nyanza love him. They long to hear what he has in store for them,” he told the Star.
“As the hustler nation, we have stated categorically the 2022 presidential campaigns are all about issues and not personalities. The democratic liberties we enjoy today courtesy of the 2010 Constitution have given us that freedom of choice. We encourage other leaders to also tell Kenyans what they plan to do,” he said.
The DP has been to Nyanza fewer than three times and he and President Uhuru Kenyatta gave the region a wide berth in the 2013 and 2017 Jubilee campaigns.
Both Uhuru and Ruto shied away from Nyanza during their first term. The first time the two set foot in the region was after the March 9, 2018, handshake between the President and the former Prime Minister.
Ruto accompanied the President on December 13, 2018, to Kisumu county where Uhuru launched the pilot phase of the Universal Health Coverage programme.
Before then, Ruto was in Migori and Homa Bay counties where he commissioned Masara-Suna-Kehancha and the Awendo- Mariwa-Oygis roads in November.
He has not set foot in Siaya since he and the President were re-elected to office in the repeat Presidential election in October 2017.
The last time he was in Siaya was in July 2015 when he was hosted by Anglican Bishop Johanness Angela in Bondo.
The Bishop was abducted days after he hosted the DP.
However, the rousing reception accorded to Ruto in Kisumu on June 1 has energised the DP and his troops.
Ruto was warmly received in Kondele as he made his way out of the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Mamboleo after Madaraka Day celebrations.
Residents, especially the youth, in uncharacteristic excitement stopped the DP’s motorcade after the celebrations led by President Uhuru.
Ruto and Raila's friendship blossomed post-the 2005 referendum when they teamed up to successfully campaign against the proposed Constitution.
They proceeded together to form the ODM party, an outfit that almost wrested power from President Mwai Kibaki in the acrimonious 2007 General Election.
Raila, Ruto and other figures — Musalia Mudavadi, Charity Ngilu, the Joe Nyagah and Najib Balala —were all members famous Pentagon.
The Pentagon campaigned for Raila with zeal with Ruto was a passionate supporter.
In 2006, he announced his intention to vie for the presidency in the 2007 and he began to work closely with Raila.
Ruto, described as a shrewd politician and powerful orator, lost in the ODM presidential primaries to Raila.
Ruto, however, chose to back Raila and he mobilised millions of voters in the vast Rift Valley, a region that had baptised ODM flagbearer to Arap Mibei.
Raila had picked Mudavadi as his vice president, while Ruto, they agreed, was destined to be a prime minister, a position they would create had they won in 2007.
Ruto was among Raila’s agents at the old Electoral Commission of Kenya chaired by Samuel Kivuitu at the tallying centre at Kenyatta National Convention Centre.
The DP protested strongly how Kivuitu was [mis]managing and announcing the presidential results.
Fast forward to 2008, when Raila also picked Ruto among others to represent ODM in the Kofi Annan-led mediation talks following the disputed December 2007 presidential results.
Raila claimed he had defeated President Mwai Kibaki in the election that was followed by violence that saw about 1,300 people killed, more wounded and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Raila ended up being appointed the Prime Minister while Ruto was appointed to the plum ministry of Agriculture in the Grand Coalition government.
Around 2009, cracks emerged in the relationship between the close friends. They traded blame over the post-election violence, who should take responsibility and how problems could be resolved.
In the bitter falling out, Raila suspended Ruto alongside current Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri from the Cabinet.
President Kibaki reversed the suspension, a move that escalated the simmering bad blood between Raila and Ruto.
In February 2009, Ruto, the self-styled hustler who once sold chickens by the railway line in his Uasin Gishu home county, survived a censure motion in Parliament.
Ironically, the motion that sought to kick out Ruto from the Cabinet over alleged improper sale of maize by his ministry was sponsored by his now new confidant and friend Boni Khalwale. He was then MP for Ikholomani.
Ruto also differed sharply with Raila over the manner in which the people who had encroached Mau Forest were evicted and the handling of tens of youths who were arrested during the post-election violence that followed the 2007 polls.
The DP was kicked out of Cabinet on October 19, 2010, an action that saw the then Eldoret North MP led a massive exit of Rift Valley MPs from the ODM party.
They left ODM and unsuccessfully attempted to take over the United Democratic Movement but were frustrated by the General John Koech, a close ally of Raila who was the secretary general of the party. He is deceased.
Although Ruto's sacking from the Cabinet was linked to a constitutional court ruling on a six-year-old corruption case in which he was accused of illegally selling land to a state corporation, political undertones were cited.
Ruto in December 2010 was indicted by the ICC alongside Uhuru, former ODM chairman Henry Kosgei, former Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura, former police commissioner Hussein Mohammed and radio presenter Joshua Sang.
Ruto accused Raila and his ODM party of fixing them at The Hague-based court.
Charges were dropped for lack of evidence, as a number of key witnesses recanted their statements, some went missing, at least one was murdered.
In November 2012, Ruto and Uhuru, whose communities could not see eye to eye, entered into a political deal that saw them win the 2013 presidential election
ODM’s director of campaigns Junet Mohamed said the DP is free to visit Nyanza as any part of the country.
Speaking to the Star, the Suna East MP sad, however, the region is fully locked by ODM.
He said Ruto being a presidential candidate should visit every part of the country to market his ideas.
“It is good for him to visit any part of the country. However, I don’t think the visit will translate into votes," he said. " Ruto’s visit shows maturity in our democracy. He is very much welcome."
(Edited by V. Graham)
