Mudavadi, Wetang'ula tour Kakamega, day before Raila Vihiga visit
ODM leader Raila Odinga (left) condoles with his ANC counterpart Musalia Mudavadi and family during the burial service of Rosebella Mudavadi in Sabatia, Vihiga, on December 18, 2021.
Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya’s Moses Wetang’ula will on Tuesday lead campaigns for the Kenya Kwanza Alliance in Western region as the hunt for the 2.2 million votes from the region intensifies.
The Kenya Kwanza team will kick off their campaigns in Lumakanda market in Lugari constituency before heading to Angurai in Teso North and return to Kakamega for another rally at Khwisero market.
Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula who will be accompanied by their key allies from western, including Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi and Vihiga Woman Representative Beatrice Adagala will wind up their forays in Ileho, Shinyalu constituency.
The rallies come ahead of a planned tour of Vihiga County by the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga on Wednesday, May 25.
Vihiga County, the backyard of Mr Mudavadi has in the past voted in support of Mr Odinga.
But Deputy President William Ruto has this year made several forays after Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula parted ways with the ODM leader and decided to partner with Dr Ruto on January 23.
Mr Odinga is seeking to galvanise the support of voters in Vihiga County to boost his bid in the region.
The Kenya Kwanza team is seeking to counter campaigns by the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition which are being spearheaded by Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya.
Governor Oparanya has asked voters in the region to back the Azimio team to ensure the region has a stake in the next government should Mr Raila Odinga, the presidential flagbearer clinch victory in the August 9 General Election.
The tussle between two camps will have a bearing on the battle for the Kakamega governorship seat, which pits Mr Ferdinand Barasa (ODM) and Senator Malala (ANC).
Senator Malala said the Kenya Kwanza team was in the region to popularise the Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential bid in the region.
The Kenya Kwanza team is targeting the vote rich constituencies of Lugari which has 77,001 registered voters and Shinyalu with 71,256 voters.
Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula have been promised a 30 per cent stake in Dr Ruto’s government if they deliver 70 per cent of the votes in western in the August 9 polls.
While in Kiambu on Monday, Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetang’ula said they were confident of delivering more than 90 per cent of the votes in western region because of the shift in support for Mr Odinga who they accused of abandoning the Luhya community.
They said Mr Odinga had betrayed the trust communities in western had put in him after he failed to reciprocate the support he has received from the region in past elections.
