UhuRuto take Jubilee campaigns to Naivasha as Nasa holds rally in Nairobi
What you need to know:
- President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto will meet Jubilee Party aspirants before holding a rally in Naivasha Town.
- Nasa principals will lead their brigade in the much-awaited rally expected to assure their supporters that they are united.
- On Wednesday, the team said that a “major announcement’ will be made in the Nairobi rally.
- Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi Thursday said that the rally had come at the right time.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and the opposition Nasa (National Super Alliance) will Friday be in Nakuru and Nairobi counties respectively as the hunt for votes goes a notch higher ahead of the August elections.
For the Nasa team, it will be a significant show of unity coming at a time when each of the principals and their lieutenants have furiously laid claim to the joint ticket, in a case that is almost one of “my way, or the highway.”
While President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will be in Naivasha Town, the Nasa team will be at Masinde Grounds in Mathare Constituency in Nairobi.
President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto are scheduled to meet Jubilee Party aspirants before holding a rally in Naivasha Town.
The town was worst hit by the 2007/08 post-election violence, a subject the President reignited on Wednesday when he accused Nasa co-principal Raila Odinga of playing a central role in the chaos.
NASA RALLY
Mr Odinga (ODM), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress), and Moses Wetang’ula of Ford Kenya will lead their brigade in the much-awaited rally expected to assure their supporters that Nasa is united.
“The rally is crucial and the public expects to be assured that the Nasa team is united and that they will move together in all the rallies,” said Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior.
The Nasa rally comes at a time when the quartet continues to put on a brave face despite claims of wrangles over choice of who among them should face President Kenyatta in the August 8 poll.
On Wednesday, the team said that a “major announcement’ will be made in the Nairobi rally.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
“A major announcement is set to be made that will significantly change the political landscape of the country,” said a statement from the Nasa coordinating committee.
The statement was signed by Siaya Senator James Orengo (ODM), his Machakos counterpart Johnson Muthama (Wiper), Tongaren MP Eseli Simiyu (Ford Kenya) and ANC’s Sakwa Bunyasi, the Nambale MP.
But 24 hours later, the Nasa team sent a different statement, this time signed by Mr Norman Magaya, who sits in the Nasa secretariat.
“During the rally, the coalition principals will issue a joint statement on the real state of the nation and highlight the corrective measures that the coalition intends to undertake to redeem Kenya’s lost glory,” Mr Magaya said in the statement.
Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi Thursday said that the rally had come at the right time.
“Nairobi is a Nasa territory. We shall be asserting that fact in the rally apart from communicating to the whole country our message of hope,” said Mr Wandayi.
