Raila, Kalonzo jet out of the country

Azimio Presidential Candidate Raila Odinga and his Chief Cabinet Secretary nominee, Kalonzo Musyoka, are out of the country on private missions, sources within their camps have intimated.

Mr Musyoka reportedly flew out of the country on Tuesday evening while Mr Odinga left the country Wednesday morning.

Officials in Mr Odinga’s camp remained guarded on the matter, only confirming what they referred to as a “short trip” which came barely 48 hours after the Azimio manifesto launch.

Those who spoke to the Nation, however, noted that various teams would continue with campaigns ahead of Mr Odinga’s return on Friday.

“We have different teams out but campaigns also require back office management. “Our captain has dashed out in the neighbourhood but will be back shortly. He has travelled into the neighbourhood for a day or so, however, I cannot release that officially,” a highly placed source in Mr Odinga’s camp told the Nation.

“I’m sure his spokesperson will give details on the matter. Maybe it’s a fairly confidential consultation with regional leaders,’ the source said.

Machakos Town MP Dan Maanzo, a confidant of Mr Musyoka, also confirmed that the Wiper leader was out of the country.

“He left on Tuesday evening but I’m not sure whether they will meet with our presidential candidate, who I’m told also left this morning (yesterday),” Mr Maanzo told the Nation.

Mr Odinga is said to have travelled aboard a private jet in the company of his daughter Winnie Odinga and Azimio Executive Director Raphael Tuju.

Mr Tuju and Ms Odinga’s phones were off for the better part of yesterday and could not be reached by the time of going to press.

Numerous attempts to reach Mr Odinga’s spokesperson, Mr Dennis Onyango, his campaign spokesperson Prof Makau Mutua and Azimio Secretary General Junet Mohammed, were futile.

They neither answered calls nor responded to text messages on the matter.

Mr Odinga’s trip comes barely two months after he concluded a trip in the United States of America.

During his US trip in April, Mr Odinga held a town hall meeting with Kenyans in Washington DC.

He also briefed the Kenyan diaspora in the US on the state of the Kenyan nation, preparations for upcoming elections and his post-election plans for Kenya.

In March, he also took a break from the political campaigns and flew to the United Kingdom (UK) just hours after he was crowned the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate on March 12.

He addressed the international community at the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Royal Institute of International Affairs or Chatham House.

The visit came barely a week after Deputy President William Ruto also concluded his tour of the country, where he also spoke at Chatham House after his visit to the United States.

Political analysts see the visits as a strategy to woo the West ahead of the August 9 elections.

Political analyst Javas Bigambo says aspirants for the top office seek to demonstrate that they have important ties abroad, especially in the West.

Prof Macharia Munene of USIU says the possibility of support through finances and in kind is another factor that would make aspirants want to reach out to the West.

“Each is also aware of the damage the West can inflict on campaigns simply by making negative comments,” Prof Munene argues.