By Ken-Arthur Wekesa

Prime Minister Raila Odinga will take his campaign to Nyandarua County where he will visit families of two freedom heroes on return from a 10-day official tour abroad.

The PM flew out against the backdrop of the storm raised by unflattering comments contained in the memoirs Peeling back the mask by his former aide, Miguna Miguna.

Raila’s tour of Nyandarua will begin with a visit to families of the late Josiah Mwangi “JM” Kariuki and Dedan Kimathi. The PM is expected to visit Mukami Kimathi, the widow of the Mau Mau freedom fighter, who was hung by the colonialists in 1952.

Thereafter, he will lay a wreath on the grave of JM Kariuki, who was assassinated in 1975 for speaking out against the excesses of the Kanu regime.

Public rallies

The PM will address two public rallies in Nyandarua and Ol Kalau. The Standard has learnt the planned campaigns come after a series of meetings between leaders from Ol Kalau and officials at the PMs office.

Last week, a grassroots delegation from Ol Kalau came to the Office of the Prime Minister and had an audience with Raila to finalise the plans.

During an earlier visit to Kimathi’s memorial site in Kihingaini in Nyeri where he planted a tree, Raila assured the widow he would visit her.

Raila, it is also understood, will engage Kimathi’s widow on the prospects of supporting Mukami Kimathi Foundation which she set up to propagate the freedom the slain field marshal and other freedom fighters fought for. Kimathi was executed by the British imperialists in the pre-independence epoch for alleged murder and terrorism.

JM’s daughter Rosemary Kariuki confirmed to The Standard that the family would host the PM at their Nyandarua home. Said she: “The PM will lay a wreath on the grave of my father. He will be the first senior most Government official to salute the memory of JM by such a gesture.”

JM was a politician whose socialist ideology remained a thorn in the flesh of capital barons during post-independence epoch.

The climax of the tour will a procession to Ol Kalau Township where the PM will preside over the official launch of JM Kariuki Referral Hospital, formerly Ol Kalau Hospital.

The hospital was one of the development projects initiated by JM. Successive regimes have done little to honor JM as they loathed with passion over his continued fight against capitalism. The gesture by the PM is an attempt to endear himself to the residents of Ol Kalau and by extension Nyandarua ahead of the 2013 polls.

Speaking to The Standard, Ol Kalau Town Council chairman Antony Gitonga said it is expected that as a politician, Raila will use the platform to sell his bid. Gitonga says residents are happy that Raila has taken it upon himself to honor JM.

“Raila will not only officiate at the launch of the JM Referral Hospital, but has also promised to equip the facility,” said Gitonga. Ngunjiri Wambugu of Change Associates says the move by the PM means a lot to the people of Ol Kalau and by extension, Nyandarua County.