President Uhuru Kenyatta urged to visit Kisumu

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta with Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch at SOS Children's Village when she presided SOS Day celebrations Monday. (Photo: Titus Munala/Standard)

Kisumu, Kenya: A section of leaders from Kisumu want President Uhuru Kenyatta to visit the region and quell rising tension in the country.

The leaders petitioned First Lady Margaret Kenyatta to ask the President to visit the region as a sign of unity and his commitment to healing the country.

Kisumu County Assembly Speaker Anne Adul said Kisumu residents are peaceful and open to democracy.

"First Lady, when you go back to Nairobi, tell the President that his visit to Kisumu is long overdue," Adul said, adding that the presence of Mrs Kenyatta in Kisumu and the rousing welcome she was given by residents is proof that the town is open to everyone.

Kisumu West MP, John Olago Aluoch, said with unity, Kenyans can achieve great things adding that there is a lot of unwarranted tension in the country that can be avoided. Olago said the President's visit to Kisumu would herald unity among all Kenyans and ease tension in the country following calls for national dialogue and planned rallies by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD).

President Kenyatta has been to Kisumu once since he was sworn in, to attend the funeral of the late Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary General Okuta Osiany.

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Overdue visit

He has only made one stopover at the Kisumu International Airport on his way to Western Kenya for the commemoration of the Late former Cabinet Minister and veteran politician Moses Mudavadi. The president recently toured Kisii and Nyamira counties as a way of reaching out to the region.

The Coptic Holy Ghost Church Leader Father John Pesa I also said the clergy would welcome Uhuru to Kisumu. They urged Governor Jacktone Ranguma to invite the President to initiate projects and preach peace.

"We do not want this country to be likened to Iraq, Iran or Syria, we need a President who is able to unite all Kenyans," Father Pesa said.

Olago also urged leaders to be responsible and desist from utterances that could fuel ethnic hate among Kenyans.

"When we make demands from each other, let us do so with civility," Olago said.

His remarks come even as 18 Senators and MPs have been asked to record statements with the police, over alleged hate speech.

The leaders were speaking in Kisumu during the SOS Day celebrations where the First lady launched a campaign dubbed "Care for ME! Quality Care for Every Child" aimed at pushing for child protection in Kenya.