Political pundits say Uhuru and Ruto’s shoulder to shoulder Central tour is meant to popularize and assure Ruto of 2022 central support.
According to Garissa political analyst Hillary Obure, Rift Valley is an important factor for Uhuru if he is to remain in office for a second term, especially following threats of formation of NASA.
He says Rift Valley region were losing faith in Central Kenya following speculations that the region will be supporting their own in 2022, in this case Peter Kenneth.
He says this has further been made worse by Rift Valley home party KANU, which according to the analyst commands a good following.
“Uhuru needs Ruto in the 2017 elections, and the only way is to popularize him back in the central region which sends a signal to rift valley of their support in 2022. KANU has been very vocal in criticizing the Central, questioning their 2022 pledge of supporting Ruto,” he said.
He says Uhuru needs to be more careful than the 2013 elections.
“2017 will be a two horse race between Jubilee government and Cord and a small mistake could mean a loss of power for Uhuru and for this reason he has to get a 100 percent support from his strongholds” says Obure.