Deputy President William Ruto has asked Jubilee Party leaders in Western and Ukambani regions to market the party’s manifesto to voters in their respective areas.
Speaking when he met the leaders at Karen in Nairobi yesterday, Mr Ruto emphasised that it was the responsibility of leaders to sell the party’s manifesto to Kenyans at the grassroots level because they were well placed to do so.
“We are proud of our scorecard and that is why we want to challenge our friends in the Opposition to tell us what they did for Kenyans when they served for years in Government instead of the rhetoric we are used to,” he said.
The DP is on a charm offensive to woo more leaders to support President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election bid, even as the National Super Alliance (NASA) brigade, which has two principals in Western Kenya and a running mate from Ukambani, set a rematch of the 2013 contest.
The vote-rich Western region will be a swing vote in the August 8 General Election, hence the attention from NASA and JP.
Ruto first held a one-hour meeting with all Jubilee winners, who contested for the posts of governor, senator, woman representative and MP.
The winners were from the four counties of Bungoma, which has 559,897 registered voters, Kakamega with 746,877, Busia 347,911 and Vihiga 267,481.
Strong candidates
Thereafter, he met with the winners from Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s backyard of Makueni County.
The Deputy President took a swipe at the Opposition, which he dismissed as only thriving on propaganda to confuse Kenyans because they have nothing new to offer.
“You have the advantage because you can talk about roads, health, education, electricity and several other projects that we have implemented in the region,” he told them.
Ruto exuded confidence that Jubilee would triumph in the August elections.
“In the last election we didn’t have strong candidates like you and this is a clear indication that we are going to win in Western and Kamba region this time round,” he said.
He urged Kenyans to support Jubilee because it was committed to peace, unity and development.
“I have no doubt in my mind that we have much more superior agenda to take this country to the next level than our competitors,” said Ruto.
The DP challenged those the Opposition to be prepared to tell the country what they did when they served in senior positions during previous regimes.
“The opposition should compete with us on issues. This is what competition is all about,” he said.
The leaders formed strategic teams to coordinate campaigns in their regions. Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka said Western Kenya was a swing vote region.
“We have formed a strategic campaign team that will deliver votes to Jubilee,” he revealed.
Non-existent things
He admitted that based on the results of the just-concluded Jubilee primaries in Western region, some aspirants were annoyed but unity should prevail.
“We are talking to those who didn’t win to stay on board and support the party. We now have a team player (UhuRuto) and are focused on the goal, strikers and the defence. Our colleagues in the Opposition have been promised no-existent things,” he lashed.
He continued: “Western has been played. We are not foolish. We did not support Jubilee in 2013 yet we got two Cabinet positions and a number of parastatals and ambassadorial positions.”
President Kenyatta will meet the Western leaders on Friday.
