Deputy President William Ruto is seen off at Abuja International Airport
by the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria Tom Amolo on May 30, 2015.
Mr Ruto was in Nigeria to attend the inauguration of President Muhammadu
Buhari. PHOTO | DPPS
Deputy President William Ruto is on Sunday scheduled to make his
sixth trip to Kisii since he was elected, a day after Opposition leader
Raila Odinga called on youths in his strongholds to register as voters
and ensure his party records maximum turnout in the election.
He said that with a high voter turnout, Cord was better placed to uproot Jubilee from power.
Mr
Ruto’s trip to raise funds for a church comes barely four days after Mr
Odinga met a delegation of elders from Kisii county led by Senator
Chris Obure who assured him of their support in the next General
Election.
The region was among the top beneficiaries
of parastatal jobs announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta in April, with
most of the appointees expected to escort Mr Ruto to the fundraiser.
The
next elections may be two years away but political activity by
President Kenyatta’s Jubilee coalition and the Opposition Cord strongly
reveal an aggressive effort to seduce and control regions that could
determine the 2017 outcome.
In a country where
political mobilisation continues to revolve around regional blocs, there
is a deliberate effort to win and retain support from mainly Western,
Coast, the two counties of Gusiiland and the Maa-speaking communities.
And
statements by Mr Odinga on Saturday, recent campaigns and interviews by
senior members of his Orange Democratic Movement suggest they’re
thinking ahead of the next election.
The Odinga
strategy appears to be to lock Jubilee out of his traditional
strongholds, push for massive voter registration and high turnout, as
well as exploit the discontent among supporters of the ruling coalition
especially the Maasai.
DANGLE CARROTS
Jubilee
is keen to keep its main Central Kenya and Rift Valley vote blocs,
pastoralists and to dangle carrots to swing areas such as Kisii, Western
and Coast.
Political pundits say the Uhuru-Ruto
activities can be said to be part of their responsibilities but the
election motive cannot be ignored.
Already ODM has
launched a quiet but massive voter registration campaign in its
strongholds. ODM secretary-general Ababu Namwamba, who was in Kisumu on
Friday to launch the campaign, said that although Mr Odinga’s
strongholds had sufficient numbers to beat the Jubilee coalition, voter
registration and turnout was their major headache.
On
Saturday, Mr Odinga asked his supporters to not only come out to
register but also ensure maximum turnout in the next election.
“It
is very sad that Cord regions have registered low numbers of voters as
opposed to Jubilee. We need to change this if Kenyans want to see a
Cord government in 2017,” said Mr Odinga in Siaya during the funeral of
Joan Argwings Kodhek, the wife of independence politician Argwings
Kodhek. He asked Cord politicians to rally behind the voter registration
campaign.
“Good governance can only be achieved if all
Kenyans have the ID and voters cards. The time for doing this is now
and we should not take any chances,” said Mr Odinga.
Mr Namwamba told the Sunday Nation they had instructed all party officials to furnish them with status reports on the voter registration.
“We are targeting a 100 per cent registration in our key support base,” he said.
Mr
Namwamba said ODM had failed to get to the presidency in its previous
attempts because of its failure to maximise its numbers in the Western,
Coast and Nyanza regions.
While the Jubilee
administration appears to be using political appointments, title deeds
and government projects to win favour, Mr Odinga has been hosting
delegations from the regions and highlighting failures of the Jubilee
coalition and crediting the success of devolved governments to a
spirited fight by the Opposition.
In a sense, while
President Kenyatta and his Deputy are claiming credit for gains mainly
in the energy sector and infrastructure development, the Opposition is
keen to run away with the gains of devolution such as massive expansion
of rural roads, hospitals, water supply and agriculture, under the watch
of its governors.
The Opposition Cord coalition controls 24 out of the country’s 47 counties.
BIGGEST HEADACHE
Moreover,
the Opposition is keen to project the Jubilee administration as not
only incompetent but squarely to blame for growing
insecurity, near-collapse of the tourism sector at the Coast and the
education sector in counties such as Mandera, Wajir, Baringo and Garissa
where about 95 schools have been closed.
The war on
insecurity has led to the collapse of nearly 40 hotels in resort towns
of Kilifi, Kwale and Lamu counties, leading to the loss of 40,000 jobs.
The arrest of Muslim leaders at the Coast has also dented Jubilee’s
image in the region.
However, Western and Coast could
be the biggest headache for both camps. So far, Mr Ruto has visited
Kakamega five times. The President has also been there twice and has
made numerous trips to the Coast, the most recent being on Tuesday when
he promised local residents 4,000 land title deeds.
Two weeks ago, Mr Odinga met elders from Kakamega County.
While
the Jubilee and Cord leaders are fighting for Western, local
politicians are busy trying to consolidate the Luhya vote with the aim
of using it as a bargaining tool in the next election.
On
Saturday, former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende and Lugari
MP Cyrus Jirongo announced the formation of a new political party.
Mr
Marende, who was recently appointed chairman of the Kenya Power company
board by President Kenyatta, said the United Democratic Party (UDP)
will be used to enhance their bargaining power.
“We must have our own house and should not keep sheltering in other people’s houses. UDP is our own house,” Mr Jirongo said.
In
what is seen as an attempt by Jubilee to penetrate the Luhya and Kisii
communities, Mr Kenyatta recently nominated former western MPs Eugene
Wamalwa (Saboti) as Water Cabinet Secretary, Mr Soita Shitanda chairman
of the Agricultural Development Corporation, and Mr Musikari Kombo and
Mr Raphael Wanjala to various boards.
And in Kisii, Mr
Kenyatta appointed Mr Simeon Nyachae’s relative Judy Nyachae and son
Kenneth Bitange to the Civil Aviation Authority and Export Processing
Zones Authority boards respectively.
Others from Kisii
who got State jobs were Ms Violet Omwamba (Lake Victoria South Water
Board), Mr Christopher Ayienda, New Kenya Co-operative Creameries
Limited and lawyers Ken Ogeto and Gershom Otachi.
JOBS GIVEN 'TO CRONIES'
On
Saturday, ODM leaders dismissed perceptions that President Kenyatta’s
overture to areas dominated by Cord will adversely affect their numbers.
Mr
Namwamba, Suna East MP Junet Mohammed and party director of political
affairs Opiyo Wandayi said they were confident of winning the 2017
elections.
Mr Namwamba said that contrary to reports
that Mr Odinga was losing grip in Western Kenya, he was the region’s
most popular leader and appointments from the region will not adversely
affect his numbers.
“Those appointments are a Kanu
style of doing things. The jobs were only given to some families. What
President Kenyatta did was give jobs to his cronies,” said Mr Mohamed.
But
the Jubilee coalition is upbeat about 2017 and believes that their
government performance and voter strategy will help their re-election.
According
to Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, Jubilee will bank on the
success of devolution, health, additional police equipment and CCTV
cameras for security, and the improvement of electricity connection to
seek re-election.
“Our strategy is right and our
mathematics is slowly falling in place. We have attracted many friends
from most of those sides that did not support us in 2013,” said Mr
Murkomen, a close ally of DP Ruto.
“Every voter will
see and vote for what we have done. That, really, is what is at stake
here and not other things people keep talking about,” he said.
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