President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga will be in the Lakeside city of Kisumu of five days, starting this weekend. The joint development tour will kick-off with the Madaraka Day celebrations in the new Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium.
Already, high-level officials from both President Uhuru and Raila Odinga’s camps are in Kisumu, preparing grounds for the one-of-a-kind welcoming of President Uhuru. It is the first time in the history of this country that a national public holiday was being held in Kisumu.
The visit also comes at a time when President Uhuru is facing intense rebellion in his backyard following a shell-shacking by little known PEP in Juja last week Tuesday and also scuffle between CS Fred Matiangi and ODM Party in Bonchari. This is not all. The Building Bridges Initiative is currently on hold after the High Court declared it unconstitutional and illegal a couple of days ago.
”High level delegations from both sides are in Kisumu this week to make the president’s 5 day stay as comfortable as possible. Uhuru is genuinely loved here. We feel it in the atmosphere,” one of the organizers from President Uhuru’s camp confided to this publication.
The political consequence of the historic tour is one of the things many Kenyans, especially those from the Lake and Mt Kenya regions are looking forward to. Even though Hon Raila Odinga has hosted the president more than thrice in Kisumu, the Head of State has not had any joint tours with the ODM leader in his Mt. Kenya backyard. In January this year, Mr. Odinga’s convoy was pelted with stones in Githurai after a meeting with women entrepreneurs.
