Deputy President William Ruto landed in Nyanza on Sunday only to be slapped with a dull reception after the region's leaders boycotted his events.
The DP arrived in Homa Bay on Sunday, a day after Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen declared while in Nyeri that since Ruto had hosted President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga at his Karen home in Nairobi for lunch, it was almost automatic that Raila would back Ruto's 2022 State House bid.
"I have asked Jubilee leaders to stop fighting Raila because President Kenyatta has brought him closer. I went for lunch with Uhuru, Raila and Ruto, and from what I saw, Raila may help Uhuru push for Ruto's presidency," said Murkomen while speaking at Gatumbo Catholic Church.
But hours after the announcement, Ruto flew by helicopter to Nyanza, Raila's political backyard but was shocked by the cold reception he received.
The only ODM leaders who were on standby to receive the former Eldoret North MP in Homa Bay and Migori were embattled Migori Governor Okoth Obado, Karachuonyo MP Adipo Okuome and Homa Bay Deputy Governor Hamilton Orata.
All other leaders were nowhere to be seen.
Ruto may have used the visit to 'taste the political waters' having hosted Uhuru and Raila at his Karen home for a meal just two days before the tour in which he launched multiple development projects.
If what Murkomen said while in Nyeri is anything to go by, then his statement mislead Ruto who may have thought that by hosting Raila, the former Prime Minister would back his bid to succeed Uhuru in 2022.
Ruto, however, downplayed the cold reception describing Nyanza residents as "bright people".
"Let no one come here in the last minute without any development record to tell you tibim, for you to vote for him. Ask them what they did to deserve your vote," he said in Kanyandiany, Homa Bay.#hivisasaoriginal