Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s close allies have stood firm to ward off President William Ruto’s forays into Nyanza even as the Head of State appeared to be offering an olive branch to the Orange Democratic Movement Party leader in his tour of the region.
While there were reports of a planned boycott of the tour by elected leaders from ODM, Governors from the Azimio la Umoja one Kenya Coalition Party ensured they were present to water down any attempts to lure their people towards Kenya Kwanza side.
This appeared to be a well-calculated move to stamp their authority and show the ‘Visitor’ that the region was still firmly under Mr Odinga and the ODM Party.
The well-thought-out strategy was also to deny the ODM rebel MPs any opportunity to steal the limelight by displaying how their closeness to the President had brought forth fruits of development in the name of projects being launched during Dr Ruto’s four-day tour of the region.
The leaders stressed that every region has a right to development irrespective of its political affiliation.
It was Siaya Governor Mr James Orengo who set the ball rolling taking the bull by its horns when he shared a podium with the President and other elected leaders from Kenya Kwanza and a section of ODM MPs who had chosen to work with Dr Ruto.
“I want to tell you Mr President that I do not fear anything in politics and that is why I only say the truth. I have only come here because of development and all I want is that we bring an end to tribal politics and ensure that every region is developed equally,” said Governor Orengo in Urenga, Ugenya sub-county.
The county boss also took the time to lecture the ODM rebels who had accompanied the President on his tour.
“If you are in ODM like I am, you should be proud of it because it is not a mistake. We must bring political hygiene into our politics,” said Governor Orengo.
He also stated that one doesn’t need to go and beg for development in the State House but has the constitutional right to benefit from the government programs.
The Siaya County boss asked the President not to weaponize development and ensure every region feels part of Kenya.
"Whoever is telling you that you have to be in government to benefit from development is lying to you and does not understand the Constitution. That is petty politics. The constitution states that the president must visit every corner of the country and deliver development for Kenyans," said Governor Orengo.
He stated that the county government must work with the national government as enshrined in the constitution.
And when he rose to speak, the president assured the people of Nyanza that the region will not be side-lined when it comes to development simply because they didn’t vote for him overwhelmingly.
"Let nobody tell you that you are out of this government. You pay taxes and you are Kenyans. This is your government. I will not allow any part of Kenya to be discriminated against in terms of development on the basis of political affiliation," said Mr Ruto.
He appeared to be reading from a different script than that of his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua who has always held the view that Kenya is like a limited company with shareholders whose interests come first then others who never played a part in forming the Kenya Kwanza government, comes later.
According to the President, an individual should not be persecuted because of his political stand.
"It is primitive and backward for anybody to imagine that any region of Kenya cannot get development on account of how they voted, that is not right and that is not correct and I want to assure the people of Kenya that we will move together as one nation," said Dr Ruto.
Kisumu Governor Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o took the cue from Mr Orengo shutting down a section of United Democratic Alliance Party members who translated the overwhelming reception given to the President, into some sort of endorsement of Dr Ruto by the ODM leader’s strongholds.
The governor slammed Nandi Senator Mr Samson Cherargei who claimed that the warm welcome accorded to President Ruto in Nyanza showed that the political influence of Mr Odinga was waning in the region.
The governor who spoke a day after receiving the Head of State at Kabonyo Kanyagwal in Kisumu, termed the sentiments as reckless and unfortunate.
“Let it be noted that Ruto was welcomed as the President of the Republic of Kenya, not as a UDA leader on a campaign trail. Secondly, it is the culture of the Luo nation to always be hospitable to visitors. President Ruto was no exception,” said Governor Nyong’o.
He warned UDA leaders that their loose and irresponsible utterances to advance their parochial political interests are not only provocative but also primitive.
Prof Nyong’o denounced such utterances and asked UDA leaders to stop this political culture, especially at a time when President Ruto is visiting the ODM strongholds.
“Let it be known that the people of Kenya support Raila Amolo Odinga as our Leader and crusader for the Second liberation of this nation, and so does the Nyanza region where UDA does not exist,” said the Kisumu Governor.
The governors were speaking even as the rebel ODM members felt they had been vindicated by the president’s visit to the region and launching of development projects.
Elected leaders from the region who had accompanied the president were Siaya deputy Governor Mr William Oduol as well as MPs Gideon Ochanda (Bondo), Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Caroli Omondi (Suba South) and Mr David Ochieng (Ugenya).
After months of being ridiculed, the president’s visit came as a relief to them since they had an opportunity to tell their people what the fruits of their State House visit and their newly found relationship with the Kenya Kwanza leader.
“We have been ridiculed and attacked for a very long time because of the move we took to work with the government. They said we went with our stomachs but now we are able to show them that the stomachs they see here are roads, funding for a new health center, and many more. We will continue working with the government to develop our region,” said Mr Nyamita.
