By Mercy Imali
President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to embark on national tours to preach development and national cohesion. He will work hand in hand with Raila Odinga to promote the handshake following the disputed election.
The president’s spokesperson Kanze Dena said, “We will announce the itinerary when it is ready. For now, they have to acknowledge that politics will not be given priority, instead we will prioritise the development and unity of Kenyans,” she added. On Tuesday Dena told reporters at State House that aid Uhuru had reached his “elastic limit” in tolerating the rebels.
Details of the travel plans and handshake promotion emerged on the day Ipsos released a new opinion poll that showed that the country is overwhelmingly behind the March 9th, 2018, cooperation deal.
An average of 80 per cent of the respondents nationally said they support the truce.
The main reason for the support of the handshake, the poll suggests, is that it has brought about peace and unity and eased political tensions in the country.
The first leg of the national travels, will begin in the President’s Mount Kenya backyard where some MPs have dared him to a political duel for castigating the Tangatanga group.The region has also previously complained that president Kenyatta has focused on other parts of the country at the expense of his own backyard. Some Central Kenya MPs have told off the President over his Sunday rant and dismissed his claims they rode on his coattails to Parliament.
Among them is Kandara MP Alice Wahome and Kirinyaga Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici.
“The President did not help us, instead we helped him. We respect him as the President but he should also listen to us. When his election was nullified, he was always calling us. Why did he not go campaigning alone?” Ngirici asked.
If Uhuru extends his tours to Ruto’s Rift Valley turf, he will have to deal with residents who will be waiting to hear from him if he will support Ruto in 2022 as he had promised in the run-up to the 2017 election.
Since winning his re-election, Uhuru has given Rift Valley a wide berth.
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