Deputy President William Ruto has been discreetly making inroads in Gusii region amid rising political temperatures.
On a twitter post, Ruto shared regards to Kisii Governor James Ongwae concerning their meeting over a cup of tea accompanied by chapatis on May 25.
“Appreciated the warm welcome to Kisii County by Governor James Ongwae that we capped off with a cup of tea.”
He added, “I had tea at Simon Onyoni Kombo’s kiosk, accompanied by Kisii Governor James Ongwae and other leaders at the end of a fruitful tour of the county. We have afforded small traders like Simon incentives to expand their businesses.”
Earlier on, Ruto posted a picture with Kisii residents after commissioning the Nyachenge-Tabaka-Ogembo and Nyansembe-Etago-Kenyanya roads
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In two separate meetings in Kisii and Nyamira counties on April, elected MPs, senators and women representatives buried their political differences and pledged to speak as a community.
Ruto’s political agenda in the two counties came to the fore when he met delegations from the region in his Karen home before and after the unity rallies.
Sources at the meeting say the DP asked for support as he prepared ground for his 2022 presidential bid.
Nyamira and Kisii have been supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Ruto met all five MPs from Nyamira and announced that primary and secondary schools in the county would benefit from a Sh2.1 billion Kenya and Kuwait joint project to expand facilities in a bid to improve quality of education.
Two weeks before, he met all the nine MPs from Kisii County and urged them to forget about 2017 election politics and dedicate their energy and time to serving the people.
“The onus is on all leaders to shoulder the responsibility of leadership by breaking the barriers of political differences and focusing on development,” said Ruto.
Over the Easter weekend, 10 legislators held four functions in the two counties and pledged to unite the community.
They included Kitutu Masaba’s Shadrack Mose, recently installed Gusii spokesman Simba Arati (Dagoretti North), Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira senator), Sam Ongeri (Kisii senator) and Nyamira Woman Representative Jerusha Momanyi. Others were Innocent Obiri (Bobasi), Bomachoge Chache’s Alfah Miruka, Richard Tong’i (Nyaribari Masaba), West Mugirango's Vincent Kemosi and Samuel Arama (Nakuru West).
