If there is one region that Deputy President William Ruto is keen on bagging ahead of 2022, it is the Western Kenya zone.
The region is so strategic that missing it out to the opposition even when he succeeds to take over the country's leadership from President Uhuru Kenyatta may be a big blow to his administration.
The former Western Province hosts Busia county which is an exit and entry point to East and Central Africa. East and Central Africa regions will be important to Ruto's presidency because of their economic importance to the 2022-2027 Kenyan government.
Kenya collect more revenue in the border points of Busia and Malaba and Ruto has to ensure that this particular county is friendly to the government. Busia shares a lot in common with Kakamega, Vihiga and Bungoma counties.
In 2007, Busia and the entire Western region overwhelmingly voted for opposition chief Raila Odinga and out-rightly rejected then President Mwai Kibaki and immediately Kibaki was declared winner of the presidential vote, there were protests that ushered in the Post-Election Violence which claimed over 1,300 lives.
And what followed? Many residents of the border county (Busia) slowly began boycotting Kenyan products protesting the alleged rigging of the presidential poll in Kibaki's favour. Boycotting Kenyan products meant denying the Kenyan government revenue and most traders opened association with Ugandan businessmen and women.
These developments are still fresh and may be playing out in Ruto's mind now. Ruto knows that losing such a strategic zone to the opposition may have adverse effects on the Kenyan economy.
That's why he is busy crafting an alliance with leaders from Western. Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula has already endorsed his 2022 presidential bid.