Azimio leaders have invoked a legendary western Kenya prophecy, reforms and gender card as they hunted for votes in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia.
The leaders led by coalition’s presidential hopeful Raila Odinga, Cotu boss Francis Atwoli, Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa and former UNCTAD secretary general Mukhisa Kituyi said their coalition was at the verge of liberating the nation from graft and fulfilling the Elijah Masinde prophecy.
“Elijah Masinde who was born and raised here long predicted that the leadership of the Mulembe Nation will come from the lake (Victoria) we are here to ask you to vote for Raila as president as he is closer to power now than any other time, and it is he whom the Mulembe Nation will draw the presidency from,” said Atwoli in Kimilili.
He celebrated Raila as a reformist with a soft spot for the Luhyas than his competitor William Ruto of Kenya Kwanza.
Raila said Masinde’s prophecy was coming to fruition next month and asked the voters in Bungoma to vote for him to the last man to fulfil it.
“My father Jaramogi Oginga worked so well with Elijah Masinde who predicted about the Luo- to-Luhya leadership passage just like I worked well with leaders from this region like Masinde Muliro, Martin Shikuku and others,” he said. “I will still work with you and your leaders.”
The Azimio flag bearer added that the August 9 polls would also mark the final liberation.
“It is sad to see people like Ruto carry themselves as the face of change. That is far from the truth as he represents the forces of doom and we represent the face of change. Ruto was the secretary general of YK 92, a group that resisted democracy. This must be told to our youth who may not be knowing,” he said.
In his stop over at Naitiri town, Raila questioned the authenticity of a recent poll that rated him trailing Ruto in Bungoma that has some 559,850 voters.
“The polls say I am leading everywhere in western Kenya even putting me at 70 per cent in Kakamega county where Ruto comes a distant second with 20 per cent, do you think I am that low in Bungoma?,” he posed to his supporters.
CS Wamalwa asked the locals to avoid voting for Ruto as “he carried the burgage of the YK92 group that was against change” and that he was too temperamental to be president.
“The other day he abused me in the face of my own people and he cannot be trusted with the protection of the interests of the settlers in Trans Nzoia,” he said. “Let us have Raila as he is sober.”
Kituyi said that Kenya was at the verge of making history as the second liberation soldiers were in one camp ready to give the nation the leadership it needed that is friendly to women voters.
Governors Wycliffe Wangamati (Bungoma), Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) said their counties were backing Raila to the last man.
