TNA in bid to woo ‘reluctant’ IDPs

 By Eric Wainaina                                     

The National Alliance (TNA) party on Monday launched a drive to woo Intergraded Internally Displaced Persons to register as voters as the exercise comes to an end on Tuesday.

Kiambu TNA Co-ordinator Eunice Chania said they had already met IDPs in Thika, Kiambu, Lari, and Limuru and they were responding positively.

She said by last week, very few IDPs had registered as voters, saying they had vowed not to vote following the post-poll violence that left them homeless while some lost their relatives.

“Many of them had said they will not vote but what we have been doing since last week is making a visit to where they live to have a session with them and make sure before we leave, they have changed their minds and registered at the nearest registration centres,” Chania said yesterday after meeting the IDPs in Thika.

Kiambu County TNA chairman William Josiah said the party realised IDPS had been forgotten, adding they were carrying out counselling sessions to change their minds.

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“Some are still unwilling but with a team of counsellors, I can say we have made progress,” Mr Josiah said.

He added that by the end of the exercise on Tuesday, they hope to capture at least 80 per cent of all the integrated IDPs.

Besides urging them to register, he said the party would continue to accord them moral support ahead of the March 4 polls.

Recruitment drive

At the same time, Orange Democratic Movement party Kiambu branch has embarked on a recruitment drive targeting at least 150,000 members to join the party associated with Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

County acting party chairman Peter Kabucho said they were hoping to meet the target in the next two weeks.

He said the party had already registered over 40,000 members in the county perceived as a TNA stronghold.

“There is political tolerance that even we are able to hold rallies and no one is reacting negatively,” he said, adding that Raila had planned to tour various parts of the county to woo voters.