President Uhuru and Raila’s strange coincidence

For a better part of their time President Uhuru, Raila Odinga, and many other politicians have not been all that close to the common mwanachi but the August Polls have forced them to be friends and frequent visitors of the poor who form a bigger section of the voting class.

In the recent past, President Uhuru and opposition leader seem not to care much about abandoning their longtime rich friends to spend time with the low class.

Uhuru has lined up a packed meet-the-people tour of the city, with stopovers in key areas.

As President Uhuru Kenyatta will today submit his nomination papers to the electoral commission he will make stopovers at Pipeline bus stage, Madaraka, Muthurwa Market, then Wakulima Market before moving to the Railways roundabout.

The president will also meet people at the busy Kencom Stage before making a final stopover at City Hall. Out of these places, there is no posh residence like Karen Runda, Kileleswa and the likes mentioned.

Same to opposition leader Raila Odinga in the recent past he has been a frequent visitor to people staying in Eastlands.

According to these politicians, the slums are good repositories of vulnerable voters who are easy to sway because of their needs and wants. They make up a large portion the voting-eligible population, they’re much less likely than those who are live in Estates to get out and vote.

The two key politicians believe that by making significant inroads in the region will give each one of them an upper hand in winning in the forthcoming General Election.

The poor face capricious politicians that mostly ignores them except during the election period, whereas the non-poor do have access to these politicians and are more likely to perceive the politician as working with them.

It is believed that the state that organizes the elections and the governments created by these elections are known to neglect the interests of the poor and treat them disrespectfully as compared to other income groups, but this does not seem to make the poor less enthusiastic voters.