Uhuru, Ruto on a four-day Coast tour in hunt for region's votes

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto at Witu in Lamu County during the ground breaking ceremony for the building of Garsen-Witu-Lamu road on March 9, 2017. The two are back to the Coast region on a four-day tour. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  MOHAMED AHMED

What you need to know:

  • The Jubilee leaders will start their four-visit ahead of the launch of the SGR on May 31 in Lamu.
  • They will open a police station in Magarini Sub-county before addressing a public rally.
  • The UhuRuto duo are also hoping to cash in on the bungled party nominations in some Coast counties.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto return to the Coast Wednesday as the battle for the control of the 1.7 million votes in the region heightens.

The Jubilee leaders will start their four-visit ahead of the launch of the standard gauge railway on May 31 in Lamu.

The two are to address a rally at Mkunguni Square in Lamu Island before heading to Holla in Tana River.

Also Read

On Thursday they will be in Kilifi and Kwale counties for what their handlers say will be to inspect and launch various projects.

They will open a police station in Magarini Sub-county before addressing a public rally.

In Mombasa, the Head of State is expected to hold a public rally on Friday near the Likoni ferry channel.

The two will also visit Lunga Lunga in Kwale before ending the tour in Taita Taveta.

G7 MEETING

President Kenyatta is expected to leave Mr Ruto to continue with the tour on Friday or Saturday as he heads for the G7 meeting in Italy.

President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto have been frequenting the Coast in a bid to eat into the opposition support in the area that overwhelmingly voted for ODM in the 2013 elections.

The two have been dishing goodies to locals, urging them to shun the opposition and back Jubilee in the August lections for them to achieve more development.

The UhuRuto duo are also hoping to cash in on the bungled party nominations in some Coast counties which have seen Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu ditching ODM and opting to defend his seat as an independent candidate.

DEFECTIONS

Mr Mruttu has been an ardent ODM supporter but lost to Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu in the primaries.

The opposition parties won all the gubernatorial seats at the Coast in the 2013 polls.

The opposition has however suffered a blow following the defection of Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya and his Tana River counterpart Hussein Dado to Jubilee.

Lamu Governor Issa Timamy has also indicated he will back President Kenyatta’s re-election bid.

The Nasa principals led by ODM leader Raila Odinga have been fighting to consolidate the opposition support in the Coast, accusing the Jubilee administration of failing to end historical injustices, land problems and poverty in the region.

The Nasa leaders were to start a visit of the six Coast counties in Mombasa last Sunday but rescheduled to June 8, citing the start of Ramadhan.

In the headlines