Eldoret North MP William Ruto is set to tour the Coast region and counter Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s visit weeks ago. Ruto will lead about 40 MPs to tour the region and drum up support for UDM for two days from July 1.
Trade Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere will lead the pack. Ruto has officially dumped Tourism Minister Najib Balala and picked Mwakwere as his point man in the region.
Mwakwere accompanied Ruto and Uhuru during their recent tour to Uganda and Tanzania, where they met the respective presidents - Yoweri Museveni and Jakaya Kikwete.
During Raila’s tour, Balala was reconciled with other Coast MPs including his long time rival MPs Ali Hassan Joho (Kisauni), Ramadhan Kajembe (Changamwe) and Masudi Mwahima (Likoni). Ruto will ’ hold a thanks-giving party after UDM won a civic seat in Kilifi recently.
The MP is said to be optimistic that he will have the majority votes in Coast region, after getting support from Msambweni, Kwale, Kilifi and parts of Mombasa. “It is all a game of numbers and Ruto is set to maximize on the ODM weakness to pull leaders to his side, who will be pivotal to UDM come 2012,” a source said. The re-union between Balala and Raila has however been criticized as temporary and of no consequence. Balala, who was at one point Raila’s key ally in the region fell out with him and was replaced by Joho, ODM’s Organising Secretary.
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