Kieni Member of Parliament, Kanini Kega has reiterated that President Uhuru Kenyatta will not campaign for the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition Party Presidential Candidate, Raila Odinga in the Mount Kenya region.
The legislator said Uhuru has enough foot soldiers to solidify the Mt Kenya voting bloc to the Azimio coalition.
“Uhuru is our general. You don’t expect the general to be on the battlefield. His work is to give commands to his soldiers from the back seat. As his soldiers on the ground, we have worked and we will continue doing so till we emerge winners,” Kega said.
Speaking on during his re-election campaign trail in Kieni, the second time lawmaker said the Head of State is at liberty to visit the mountain region at will.
“If the President wants to come and say hi to the Mt Kenya people and commission different projects here like the Othaya or Narumoru hospitals, Chaka railway and Chaka market, he is free to do so. He is also free to tell us one or two things as Mt Kenya people,” Kega stated.
“Let no one think that we are waiting for the President to campaign for Raila. Let it be known, the President has only one vote. It’s the people who will make the decision on who to vote for,” Kega added.
Kega has also refuted claims by the Deputy President William Ruto that names of one million voters from his stronghold areas have gone missing from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) voters register.
He says it is time for the deputy president to concede that the support he enjoyed over the years in the mountain region had dwindled adding that the Raila-Karua ticket will sweep more votes from the region.
“There is nothing like someone’s votes have been stolen or transferred. No one is supposed to claim he has Mt Kenya votes. The votes belong to the people. That’s why we, in Azimio are on the ground asking people to vote for us. In Azimio we are on a marathon run for these campaigns. We have good campaign strategies to beat our competitors and I know we will gain 60 per cent of Mt Kenya votes,” Kega said.
Kega’s remarks come barely a month after he announced that Uhuru was expected to hit the campaign trail for Odinga. The claims were later refuted by the Jubilee Party Vice Chairperson David Murathe who said the President would not be campaigning but instead he will continue to discharge his duties as the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief until the election is held on August 9.
