Uhuru’s men from Mt. Kenya are on a mission to rebrand Raila Odinga’s image in the region, to make him more appealing to the electorates.
Led by nominated MP Maina Kamanda, Uhuru’s men aim at uniting the Luo-Kikuyu community, which have been foes for a long time.
During a meeting at SK Macharia’s home on July 27, Uhuru’s men from Mt. Kenya agreed to come up with strategies of making Raila appealing to the central Kenya people.
Other than the historic differences between Kikuyus and Luos Uhuru allies also believe that DP Ruto has incited the Mt. Kenya region to be against Raila Odinga.
“Our rivals have been traversing the region for four years and lied to our people that Raila is dangerous for the region, yet Baba has never done anything wrong. We want to counter that narrative,” Kamanda said as quoted by the Star.
The meeting, which will involve MCAs, MPs from the region, will focus on creating pro-Raila campaign messages to be spread across Mt. Kenya.
This move by Uhuru’s men comes amid a visible scramble for the Mt Kenya region by 2022 Presidential hopefuls.
Before Raila’s visit to Murang’a Amani National Congress(ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi had been pitching camp at the Mt. Kenya region, hoping to get a slice of the 2022 cake.
The two Presidential hopefuls are now moving to the Mt. Kenya region long after DP Ruto has become a frequent visitor there.
Both Raila Odinga and Musalia Mudavadi hope to neutralize the DP Ruto effect in the region.
The growing popularity of Ruto in the region was seen during the Kiambaa Constituency by-election.
The by-election had been termed as the litmus test between President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee and DP Ruto’s UDA Party.
After emerging the winner, DP Ruto sent a signal to his political opponents that he has the support of the Central region.
