UDA secretary general Hassan Omar at the Hustler Center in Mombasa on Wednesday / BRIAN OTIENOUDA secretary general Hassan Omar has laughed off the united opposition’s efforts to discredit the projects President William Ruto has done, especially at the Coast.
Omar said what Ruto has done for the Coast region is there for all to see and no amount of opposition tours will erase the gains made.
“We have all seen and heard what President Ruto has done for us. Issuance of titles, many projects, the issues he has addressed, including refineries, affordable housing, port issues, Special Economic Zone.
“But the moment he left (the region), the naysayers arrived. Some of them are known thieves, have blood in their hands, while some are water melons, and some are simply puppets. All of them want to come to the Coast now,” Omar said at the Hustler Centre in Mombasa.
The secretary general said there are no longer opposition votes in the Coast region.
The region has predominantly been an ODM bastion but since the orange party has entered into an alliance with the ruling UDA, forming the broad-based government, analysts presume the region might largely vote for President Ruto’s second term.
And with the absence of Raila Odinga, who was the ODM leader, President Ruto has moved to woo over his traditional support bases in Nyanza, Western and the Coast region.
ODM strongholds in Western, Nyanza and the Coast have become battlegrounds between the rival factions that emerged following Raila’s death on October last year, with the party's grassroots support fracturing.
Analysts warn that unless the divisions are resolved, ODM risks losing its dominance in regions it has controlled for nearly two decades.
In Bondo on Wednesday, during the handover of the Raila Amolo Odinga Mausoleum, Ruto moved to further endear himself to Raila supporters by talking highly of the former Prime Minister and acknowledging how he saved the country from almost collapsing during the 2024 Gen Z uprising.
Analysts say this, and the appointment of Raila family members like Ida Odinga to lucrative government positions, is a calculated move to further endear himself to the Raila-manic followers.
The President urged the Nyanza region to turn out in large numbers and cast their votes in next year's polls in honour of Raila.
"People of Siaya, people of Nyanza, the people of Kenya, Baba fought all his life so that your voice would count. Do not silence it yourselves. Register as a voter. And next year, wake up early and vote," Ruto said.
"An eligible Kenyan who fails to register, or an adult who fails to vote, goes against everything Baba stood for."
The President described Raila as a great nationalist who held the country together and knew when to step back.
"When some sought to exploit our nation's crisis in 2024 for political expediency, Baba chose to hold the nation together. That same spirit brought us together in the broad-based government," the head of state said.
The Coast region is also one of the strongest Raila bases.
On Wednesday in Mombasa, Omar said no amount of persuasion will erase what Ruto has done for Raila and the Coast region.
“I now hear another one said there is a wave. You mean some are still dreaming? What wave? You did not have any wave when you were in power, will you have a wave now?” Omar posed,
He noted that some of the united opposition were in power for decades but did not develop even their home areas and it is only Ruto that helped save their faces by constructing amenities in their areas.
Omar told Coast residents to listen to them but know they have no development track record.
”They are naysayers, have no agenda, have only hatred and are financed by their sponsor so they can use the back door to get into government so they can continue their oppressive policies,” Omar said.
He reiterated his call for the Coast region to continue supporting Ruto for a second term in order to keep the wheel of development at the Coast moving.
“After Ruto’s second term, we will do consolidation and move with another leader who will have a third eye for the Coast region,” Omar said.
“The opposition will come to sing their songs of wantam. They will criticize not because they know but because they have been sent to do that by someone,” the SG said.
He said some of the united opposition leaders need to explain where more than 300 children from the Coast, North Eastern and other parts of the country who disappeared during the 10 years of the previous regime are.
“They should explain what they did to the education sector which collapsed and it is only Ruto now trying to revive,” the UDA boss said.
