President William Ruto on Saturday, October 7 continued with his four-day tour of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Nyanza backyard during which he extended an olive branch to the former prime minister for a political deal come 2027 General Election.
Mr Odinga, the Head of State said, had a political debt to pay with a vote in the 2027 General Election.
President Ruto, who was one of the founding members of Mr Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in 2005, said he was Mr Odinga’s confidant then, and now that he is president, their reunion had started bearing fruits.
“You all know that I was in ODM at one point, and you know I was Baba’s (Mr Odinga’s) confidant. You know now that I’m the president, he has become my associate, where is the problem? That’s how things are,” said President Ruto.
He went on: “You know I have voted for Agwambo (Mr Odinga), yet he has never voted for me. Now I’m waiting for him in 2027, because if he is not running, I will compete with Kalonzo, and he (Raila) should give me his vote.”
President Ruto takes credit for a significant part of convincing the vote-rich Rift Valley to back Mr Odinga in the 2007 elections, which ended up being disputed, leading to a deal with President Mwai Kibaki that created for him position of prime minister.
President Ruto insists the position should have gone to him due to a pre-election deal he had with Mr Odinga had he won the presidency.
Even though Mr Odinga has not shown up on President Ruto’s trips, the head of state’s assertions in Homa Bay signaled possible camaraderie, possibly explaining Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Friday outbursts, warning of Mt Kenya’s rebellion should Dr Ruto embrace Mr Odinga.
Mr Gachagua has in the past accompanied the president to Nyanza, but has not shown up in the past two days and it’s not clear whether he will attend today’s service at the Kisumu State Lodge.
During an interview on Inooro FM on Friday morning, Mr Gachagua dismissed the ongoing talks between government and opposition teams under the National Dialogue Committee, warning that should the dialogue lead to a handshake between President Ruto and Mr Odinga, then his Mt Kenya camp would bolt out.
Yesterday, Mr Odinga’s allies stood firm to ward off President Ruto’s forays into Nyanza region. The leaders stressed that every region has a right to development irrespective of its political affiliation.
“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 Siaya Governor James Orengo in Urenga, Ugenya sub-county.
The president presided over the launch of the construction of the 53km Mfangano Island Ring Road, the upgrading to the Bitumen standard of the 74km Mbita-Sindo-Kiabuya-Sori Road, toured Victory Fish Farms in Sindo and launched the rehabilitation of the Homa Bay Piers.
- Reporting by George Odiwuor, Victor Raballa, Kassim Adinasi and Rushdie Oudia
