With just eight days to next Tuesday’s General-Election, this is the week that will make or break the three key players in Kenya’s political arena: President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and Azimio-One Kenya flagbearer Raila Odinga.

Significantly, all are readying for tight schedules that will keep them busy up to the end of the campaign period on Saturday. They have only one mission; to win over as many voters as possible to their side in the quest for the magical number of 50 per cent plus one vote that they need to win the presidency.

Although the President is serving his last days at State House, he has hitched his wagon to Raila’s horse and the two are in a race to lock out Ruto from winning the presidency in his first attempt. Raila’s is his fifth. Whoever wins will become the fifth president of Kenya.

President Kenyatta, who has remained fairly active in the political scene in his last term, unlike his predecessor, Mwai Kibaki, will spend his final week in office launching projects dear to his legacy.

He has already embarked on that journey, using the platform to campaign for Raila and hit out at Ruto.

 Attack on Ruto

The President has already sent out signals that he intends to use his last days in office to launch an assault on his deputy after the two fell out four years ago.

“It is going to be a determining moment,” Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju, who is also the Azimio-One Kenya executive director told People Daily at the weekend. “The President has assured us that he will openly come out to campaign for our candidate and do everything he can to ensure Raila’s success.”

Construction of various multi-billion-shilling projects that the President will be launching began after the “Handshake” between him and Raila in March 2018.

The Handshake led to cessation of hostilities between Uhuru and Raila and bore a friendship that has lasted since then and led the President to endorse Raila to succeed him. That endorsement was at the expense of his deputy, who he had earlier promised to back.

This week is, therefore, expected to be one of the busiest and most significant for the retiring Head of State who is keen to commission completed projects before the next administration takes over. Yesterday, for instance, he commissioned the Nairobi Expressway and the Eastern Bypass and will be in Kisumu this week to commission the renovated Kisumu shipyard and officially launch the construction of MV Uhuru 2 Wagon ferry that will have a carrying capacity of 1,800 tonnes of cargo.

If trends from the recent past are anything to go by, the President will use the visit to Kisumu to campaign for Raila, just as he did in Nairobi yesterday and in Naivasha last week.

Yesterday, he commissioned the Sh90 billion Nairobi Expressway, which has been one of the projects he was keen to ensure he has a final say on. The road was closed on Saturday evening to prepare for its formal launch after a trial run of about two months.

During the last Madaraka Day celebrations, which could be the last public holiday he graced as President unless the electioneering period is extended, the President described the Expressway as a “signature project”.

“Today, the Nairobi Expressway snakes majestically through the skylines of Nairobi as a wonder to behold. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken us four years to build it but we achieved it in a year and a half because we believed in Kenya, in our people and in ourselves as government,” he said at the time.

The wagon ferry that the President will commission in Kisumu tomorrow cost Sh2.4 billion and was constructed by Kenyan agencies, including the Kenya Defence Forces, in collaboration with Dutch firm Damen Shipyards.

From Kisumu, the President is expected in Central Kenya to launch other projects, including the multi-billion Mau Mau Road. The Sh27 billion road cuts through four counties in Mt Kenya region: Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri and Nyandarua.

For Ruto and Raila, this is the week they will be putting final touches to rigorous presidential campaigns that have been punishing to both camps, especially in the past two months.

Although they began searching for support way before the official campaign period started on May 29, the past two months have been excruciating for them as they have crisscrossed the country looking for votes and trying to cancel each other’s gains in various regions.

Whereas Ruto, the United Democratic Alliance candidate, will be heavily focusing on Mt Kenya, considering his heavy reliance on the close to six million votes there, Raila will move across the country, even though he will focus on consolidating votes in regions considered his strongholds.

Battle zone

Mt Kenya is one of the regions at the centre of the fierce campaign battle between the two leading candidates.

Ruto will start the final week in his home county, Uasin Gishu, where he will lead a rally in Eldoret town. He will be seeking to stamp his authority in his backyard a day after Raila leads the Azimio team to the county.

Tomorrow and on Wednesday, he will be in Mt Kenya where he will address rallies in Nyeri, Murang’a, Kirinyaga and Kiambu.

On Thursday, he will be in Makueni and will also fly to Kilifi and Mombasa. On Friday, he will be back in Central for rallies in Laikipia, Nyandarua and Nakuru. On Saturday, he will be in Suswa, Narok, before returning to Nairobi for a final rally.

It remains to be seen if he will sustain the direct attacks on the President in his backyard as he did last week when he accused the outgoing leader of planning to use chiefs and other government officials to manipulate poll results.

“Civil servants must remain true and faithful to the call to serve Kenyans equally. They should not be intimidated or coerced to propagate certain political agendas,” said Ruto at the weekend.

Last week in Nakuru, the President said he was not interested in forcing anyone to vote in a certain way although he asked residents to consider voting for Raila.

Meanwhile, Raila will begin the week in Kiambu, President Uhuru’s backyard. He will lead a rally at Kirigiti Stadium. From there, he will head to Kisii tomorrow and Kakamega on Wednesday.

An opinion survey released by Trends and Insights for Africa (Tifa) on Friday showed that the DP had increased his support by 13 points in Mt Kenya region since the firm conducted its last poll in June. From a survey done between July 21 and 26, Ruto had 66 per cent of support from the region, up from 53 per cent last month.

“Support for Ruto since Tifa’s last survey has increased in six of the nine zones, especially in his home (Central Rift), and Mt Kenya (20 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively). However, he has suffered major declines in Northern and Western zones (-24 per cent and -11 per cent, respectively),” said the pollster.

While all opinion polls by Tifa and Infotrak put Raila ahead of Ruto by about two per cent, several by Intel Research Solutions (IRS) have put Ruto ahead by the same margin. The last poll by Tifa was published on Friday while IRS is set to release another today.

Meanwhile, Raila will begin the week in Kiambu, President Uhuru’s backyard. He will lead a rally at Kirigiti Stadium. From there, he will head to Kisii tomorrow and Kakamega on Wednesday.