- The event in Nyeri will be held at Kabiru-ini Showground.
- As many as 1,000 guests are expected, among them politicians and opinion leaders
The Kikuyu Council of Elders will on November 14 host ODM leader Raila Odinga in Nyeri in an elaborate event to bolster the relationship between Kikuyus and Luos.
The event had earlier been scheduled for this weekend but it was postponed.
Raila left the country on Wednesday morning for a two-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he is to have a meeting with President Felix Tshisekedi to review the progress of the Grand Inga hydropower project. Raila is the African Union's High Representative for Infrastructure Development.
There is a possibility that the hosts of the event, which will be held at Kabiru-ini Showground, will declare their support for Raila and set the stage for a bruising battle for Mt Kenya votes between the ODM leader and Deputy President William Ruto. The DP is also expected to pitch tent in the region this weekend.
Ruto will on Friday be in Mathioya and Kangema. He will then visit Kerugoya and Mathira on Saturday. On Sunday, the Deputy President will attend a church service in Tharaka Nithi.
But Kikuyu Council of Elders chairman Wachira Kiago maintained that the event will not be about Raila, but the relationship between Luos and Kikuyus.
“We will be meeting to cement the relationship between the two communities. It will not end there because we will also be visiting other regions of the country,” he said.
He said the event is being fought by some politicians who are against the two communities working together.
On October 10, Kikuyu Council of Elders trooped to Bondo, the rural home of Raila in an event observers say will have political implications on the 2022 elections.
Kiago said elders from the Luhya community have invited them for a similar event in Western.
“Kenya is for all of us. This is the reason we want to meet with various groups across the country to preach unity,” he said.
Secretary-general Peter Munga said they were making final preparations to host elders and political leadership from Luo Nyanza.
Speaking after inspecting the venue of the event at Kabiru-ini Showground, Munga said they had already met county commissioner Lyford Kibaara on matters security during the meeting.
“The county commissioner assured us of his full support. Preparations are in top gear for Mt Kenya to host Lake Victoria,” he said.
Munga added that youths are already cleaning the area in readiness for the big day.
As many as 1,000 guests are expected at the ceremony. The Kikuyu Council of Elders has since formed three groups of youth, women and elders, which are separately meeting to make arrangements for the day.
Munga said they have invited politicians, businessmen and opinion shapers President Uhuru Kenyatta's Mt Kenya backyard.
Edited by A.N