ODM leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday held a consultative meeting with a group of Rift Valley leaders at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi.
The closed-door meeting was attended by among others former Bomet Governor and Chama Cha Mashinani party leader Isaac Rutto, former Kuresoi South MP Zakayo Cheruiyot, former Buret MP Franklin Bett and former Konoin MP Paul Sang.
Rutto had warmed up to Deputy President William Ruto after the 2017 election, but they fell out.
On Tuesday Cheruiyot, a former powerful Internal Security Principal Secretary, said the talks with Raila dwelt on issues ranging from politics to development and the thorny Mau Forest evictions, which are due to start.
“We have serious issues affecting the community and we are trying for acceptable solutions. We decided to call on Raila to seek his views and also to get our views on some of these issues,” Cheruiyot told the Star on the phone.
Raila, who is keen to make in-roads in Rift Valley ahead of the 2022 presidential race, has in recent months escalated his talks with key leaders from moth North and South Rift as well as gracing various functions in the vote rich region.
Early last month, Raila hosted Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny and his Moiben counterpart Silas Tiren and within a short two months, the opposition chief has been to Elgeiyo Marakwet twice.
Raila was first in the county under the leadership of Governor Alex Tolgos who has fallen out with Ruto to celebrate Kuttuny’s mother-in-law Ruth Kiptoo who was retiring from teaching and two weeks ago he was back in the county, Chesongoch area for the funeral service of ODM official Johnstone Kasenge.
During the event,Tolgos declared his support for Raila for president in 2022 claiming that he has blessings from President Uhuru Kenyatta to work closely with him ahead of the poll.
“Before Mr Odinga toured Chebara recently, I asked the President if I could attend the meeting. The President told me that I should have already made plans to welcome him (Odinga) at the venue by the time we are talking,” the county boss said.