Mudavadi: I’ll improve education

By EDWIN MAKICHE

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi has defended his presidential bid dismissing claims that he was anyone’s project.

He said every Kenyan had a constitutional right to run for any seat and decried the increasing number of Kenyan children failing to make it to secondary school due to poverty and limited space.

Addressing a meeting in Bomet, Mudavadi said that despite the free primary education churning out over 700,000 candidates every year, only a fraction made it to secondary level.

“Most of these youths end up having nowhere to go and this is an issue that any head of state should be ready to address,” he said, adding that improving education was one of his party’s key policies.

Speaking earlier at Litein town in Kericho County, Musalia cautioned against a runoff. He said the exercise would be costly to the taxpayer adding that the money could be used to address other pertinent issues like education and security.

And Mudavadi’s Saturday campaign tour in Bomet County was marred by confusion and disappointment after he failed to attend scheduled rallies.

The DPM was supposed to make stopovers at Kaplong town, Chebole junction and Siongiroi before addressing a public rally at Chebunyo town. He was then to meet councillors at Bomet County Council and address an elders’ meeting at St Bakhita Hall in Bomet town.

He would have then wrapped up the tour by addressing a public rally at Silibwet Stadium. Most meetings could not,  however, materialise after the presidential hopeful, who was expected by 10am arrived at 4pm.

The team had to make a turn on their way to Siongiroi town and Chebunyo town rallies and head to Bomet town after some of the councillors who had been expecting him from midday threatened to go away.

The councillors and elders’ meetings started late in the evening with the latter running upto 8pm.

But better late than never, a jovial DPM held a closed-door meeting with the council before addressing supporters who had gathered in Bomet town. For a better part of on Sunday, members of his campaign team were engaged in blamegame over the Saturday event.