KISUMU, KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta will visit Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Nyanza backyard and hold a Cabinet meeting at Kisumu State House as the Jubilee government intensifies its charm offensive in the region.
Uhuru’s two-day tour of Kisumu that starts on Wednesday will see him assess and commission various development projects in the area.
The Director of Political Affairs in the Office of the President Joshua Kuttuny said the Head of State would be accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries.
On Sunday, Mr Kuttuny confirmed the President’s visit, saying: ‘He will chair his Cabinet meeting in Kisumu before launching various development projects in the region.”
Kuttuny denied that the President's visit has a political motive behind it. Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, area MPs and other top leaders in the county are expected to visit State House today to finalise plans for Uhuru's tour.
Ranguma said Uhuru is welcome in Kisumu and asked residents to support him.
"He is bringing his entire Cabinet to interact with the people of Kisumu and listen to their economic concerns," he said.
Ranguma added: "We are going to State House on Monday (today) to make necessary arrangements for the visit and as leaders from Kisumu County, we have lined up a number of projects that we will request the President to initiate."
The tour comes at a time when Raila is out of the country. This will be the second trip Uhuru will make to Kisumu since he assumed office as President last year.
The last time he visited the county was in April last year when he attended former Kenya National Union of Teachers Secretary General Okutta Osiany's burial.
sidelined region
TNA Secretary General Onyango Oloo said Uhuru would conduct Government business from Kisumu.
He said the President's visit is crucial because "it will help Luo Nyanza to chart its path to economic prosperity and demystify the myth that Jubilee alliance has sidelined the region in development".
"The Jubilee government is keen to ensure economic growth in all parts of the country and that is why the President is visiting Kisumu," Oloo said.
Kisumu County Assembly Leader of Majority Samuel Ong'ow asked local leaders not to politicise the trip.
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"The President is free to visit any part of the country, and because Kisumu is part of the country, we welcome him," he said.
Uhuru's tour of Kisumu is seen as intended to fight off the perception his Government had alienated central Nyanza.
The Head of State has been to south Nyanza three times, the last being the much-publicised visit to Migori where he launched the distribution of mosquito nets as part of the campaign against malaria.
However, that event was overshadowed by an ugly incident in which goons heckled speakers and threw shoes at the dais prompting the President to hurriedly end the function. A delegation led by the Migori County leadership later visited State House, Nairobi, to apologise to Uhuru for the embarrassing spectacle.
Ahead of the President's visit, residents are expecting he will revamp local sugar firms as well as revive collapsed industries such as Kisumu Cotton Mills.
The President's tour is part of the Jubilee government's intensified charm offensive in the region.
Yesterday, Deputy President William Ruto was in Migori County to preside over a fundraiser in aid of Ombo Catholic Church and to assess other development initiatives.
On Friday, the DP held yet another fundraiser in Kisii County in aid of Gionseri Secondary School. Ruto has visited Gusii region at least four times in the recent past, conducting some high profile fundraisers.
Jubilee candidates won in recent by-elections in the region, a development that was interpreted as improving fortunes for the ruling coalition.
Although Kuttuny said the Kisumu visit is not political, it is expected that the Jubilee leaders will continue to woo residents of the region that predominantly voted for Raila's Orange Democratic Movement in the last General Election.
And coming at a time when the Opposition is pushing for a referendum, Uhuru is likely to pour cold water on the initiative and urge residents to support the Jubilee government.
It is expected security will be beefed up following the Migori incident in which rowdy youths chanting ODM slogans disrupted his function.
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