NASA leaders during a past rally in Kisii. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
Opposition coalition NASA has watered down any inroads that the Jubilee Party had made in the Coast region following a successful two-day long charm offensive in the region.
In a countermeasure to reinvent his support in the region following Jubilee's onslaught a few weeks ago, NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga is keen to mark his territories ahead of the August polls.Raila and his team who used the tour to castigate the Jubilee regime's failures to address the many challenges bedeviling the locals asked the voters to reject President Kenyatta re-election bid.The NASA brigade reignited the emotive land issue, a problem that the locals have lived with since independence.Also, the politics of the region's rich mineral resources was a major subject of campaign even as they accused the government of trying to short-change residents in the sharing of revenues from minerals.Following the successful trip, the ball now is on Jubilee's court to counter NASA’s message that will undoubtedly deal them a blow in their quest to get a chunk of the region's 1.7 million votes.President Kenyatta who has planted point men in all the six coastal counties to counter the ODM wave in the region may be forced to call for a strategy meeting to discuss how to approach the electorate differently with a precise message.Uhuru is expected to visit Mombasa later this month to preside over the unveiling of a new ferry at the Likoni Channel, and as always, politics may dominate his tour.