KENYA: IT WAS A SHOW OF STRENGTH AND POPULARITY CONTEST BETWEEN RAILA AND RUTO AS THE TWO MADE VOTE HUNTING FORAYS IN THE SOUTH RIFT AND NYANZA.

News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo.

Last weekend witnessed one of the biggest political contests between the two warring factions of the ODM who took their campaigns and votes hunting deep into the South Rift and some parts of Nyanza Province.

The Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is the party leader, toured the Kericho County where he addressed a series of meeting and also commissioned the Nakuru-Kericho-Kisumu road now under the construction, before winding up the tour at the Moi Garden, which is located outside the D.C’s Office in Kericho Town. Moi’s Garden is the nerve center of Kipsigis politics.

Raila’s party’s de-facto deputy leader, the Eldoret MP William Ruto and his entourage snaked into the region from Nairobi by road and addressed crowds at the various stops-over before crown it up with a public rally at Chebilat border town.

Chebilat is a border town which is shared between the Kipsigis on the Sotik district within the Rift Valley Province and the Kisiis living in Borabu district of Nyanza Province.

This is the area which felt the heat of the post election violence of 2008 as the Kipsigis supporter of the ODM descended on property worth millions of shillings owned by the industries Abagusii traders including schools buildings were torched and burnt into ashes.

The region has ever since remained the flash-point of seemingly endless cattle rustlings which on occasions have resulted into death of innocent citizens on both sides of the common border. .A platoon of the crack paramilitary police, the General Service Units are station along the borders of the two districts as well as police Anti-Stock Theft Unit.

Interestingly, Ruto was drumming for the two communities, the Abagusii and the Kipsigis to join and vote for the United Democratic Movement {UDM} a party which is still embroiled in legal tussles before the court over its ownership.

The Prime Minister also had a closed door meeting with civic leaders in the Kericho County and the representative of the Mau Forest evictees.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Road Minister and Buret MP Franklin Bett who has, since departure of Ruto, become Raila’s point man in the South Rift region, the Kipkellion MP Magerere Lang’at who is an Assistant Minister for Energy, The Home Affairs Assistant Minister Beatrice Koneswho is also the Bomet MP, the Sotik MP Dr. Joyce Laboso, the former Deputy Chef of the General Staff Lt.Gen [rtd} John Arap Koech.

Gen Koech is still the de-facto leader of the UDM until the court rules otherwise in a court case filed by a group of Rift Valley politicians led by Ruto who staged a bloodless coup against him lat year and claimed to have overturned the UDM party leadership and thereafter Ruto declared himself the party leader.

Ruto had in his entourage the former Mugirango South MP Omingo Magara, Belgut MP Charles Keter, Konoin MP Dr Julius Kones and other leaders most of the new aspirants routing for various parliamentary seats within the Gusii region.

And while Raila flew back to Nairobi on the same day, Ruto continued with his votes hunting deep into Gusii land and later criss-crossed the region into greater Southern Nyanza where he addressed members of the public at the various stops-over in Rongo, Awendo, Uriri, and Migori before addressing another crowd in Kuria. All these areas are considered as Raila’s strong hold and under the ODM unshaken influence.

A check on the ground indicated that contrary to a claim by MP allied to William Ruto that the entire Kalenjin region was safe in the hands of the Eldoret North MP there is a sharp division of loyalties to the two ODM luminaries turned arch-rivals. Raila is the most favorite man for the next presidency, while Ruto’s ambition for the presidency is being treated as a big joke.

Ruto seemed to have made a big blunder by trying to sell to the Kipsigis voters several presidential hopefuls without giving the community a clear direction as to which among the members of the so-called D7 alliance was his favorite.

These inconsistency include his remark that he would work with the Gatund Gatundu South MP Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, and at the same time telling the electorate in Western Province that he was for the Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa while on the other hand he has been quoted as saying he would support the Vice President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka for the presidency.

These inconsistencies have been sending confusing signals to the populous Kipsigis community, a sub-tribe of the larger Kalenjin ethnic group, which previously had eight MPs In the tenth Parlament, and this time round would vote for ten MPs following the recent creation of Sigowet constituency slashed out of the existing Belgut and the sub-division of Kipkellion into two parliamentary constituencies. The community has another safe seat in Kuresoi constituency in the neighboring Molo district.

Despite of his relatively successful tour of the Kipsigis region, Raila Odinga is being stabbed at the back in his Nyanza home turf with wide-spread claims and allegation that “Agwambo” is preaching water, but drinking wine in relations to the creation of democratic space.

Raila is being accused of being responsible for the stalled Mayoral election in Kisumu City, which is the nerve center of politics in Luo-Nyanza of allegedly coercing the civic leaders within Kisumu Municipality to re-elect unpopular Mayor Sam Okello as opposed to the wishes of the majority of the City’s residents and Councilors alike.

Claims about lack of democratic space in areas under the ODM influence were echoed at the weekend by the former chairman of the Luo Council of Elders Ker Meshack Riaga Ogalo who locked horns with the Kasipul-Kabondo MP Oyugi Maguwanga during a funeral gathering I the Rachuonyo South district at the weekend.

Raila urged the community to open its door and allow every presidential aspirant to come around and sell his policy to the electorate unhindered.

He said Ruto-led UDM party should be allowed to sell its policies in the Luo-Nyanza region so that the community can have a free choice of political parties to choose from other than th dominant ODM

Raila, however, categorically and vehemently denied having personal links with UDM or Ruto at the same time issuing threat of filling legal suit against those making such claims.

His remarks provoked sharp reaction from the area MP Oyugi Maguwanga who was also present at the gathering. He told Raila in his face to stop interfering with ODM activities in the region, advising him to continue selling the policy of the UDM instead. He accused Riaga of being an agent of the UDM in the region.

The stalled Mayoral election in Kisumu City is causing a lot of jittery by the residents towards the ODM and could cost Raila some substantial votes among his Luo supporters, particularly those with moderate views who feels the civic leaders should be left alone to elect a mayor of their own choice. Even staunch supporters of the Prime Minister were heard expressing sentiments of disapproval of his involvement while political detractors viewed the action as part of Raila’s excessive arrogance and dictatorial tendency.

Other were heard saying that Raila should go out and campaign for his presidential ambition and leave the field free for competitive political among the elected Councilors. Moreover, the embattled and outgoing Mayor Okello was never elected in any ward within Kisumu City, but was brought from Mombasa the other day and nominated by Raila to the Council. He has never been an ODM activist, but a perennial KANU parliamentary election loser in Muhoroni constituency.

Within Kericho County the Prime Minister in his quest to regain popularity among the members of the Kipsigis community appeared to have picked u a team of youthful and energetic men and woman who hell-bent to dismantle Ruto influence in the area.

Ruto’s weaknesses, they claim, is his insistance that he was about to leave the ODM, but cowardly remained in the party for now close to two years. His handing around in ODM without making a bold decision and quitting the party altogether has weakened his case among the residents of the South Rift, an area which is also covering Bomet County and party of the Trans-Mara district.

Legally, Ruto is still the de-facto ODM leader, though he has made it publicly clear that he was in the UDM. “ If he has quit the ODM and join the UDM he did so without consulting us. It is indeed his democratic right to quit the ODM and join any party of his choice a an individual, but he had no right claiming that we are with him in that party because we were not consulted,” said Joseph Chepkwony Belgut politician in Kericho town.

A Kericho Municipal Councilor Nicholas Tum hailed the Prime Minister Raila Odinga for his political dynamism and magnanimity, saying he was pleased that the Kipsigis people have now realized that they were being fed with empty political slogans and propaganda aimed at maligning the Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Tum attended all the Raila’s meeting during his last week’s our of the Kericho County said the committee to over see the settlement of Mau Forest evictee should be chaired by Minister for Roads Franklin Bett. The Committee must be free of politicization and from being used as a propaganda tools to malign those perceived to be allied to Raila.

Among the presidential aspirants who toured most part of Western Kenya at the weekend Ms Martha Karua, was the most successful. Her tour drew a large number of enthusiastic supporters who cheered him widely in Migori and Siaya Towns.

The iron Lady cut across the region with clear message that Kenya was yawning for a genuine change and that anti-reformist politicians should be voted out of leadership in 2012.

Karua instant popularity in Nyanza came about as a result of her consistency in parliamentary debates on issues of national importance as one of the few “Voices of Reasons in the August House”. In some places Karua heard supporter shouting the loudest tat she should disband Narc Kenya and team up with “Agwambo” in the next elections.

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