How Raila disappointed Nyanza people again shortly after return from China

ODM leader Raila Odinga on Saturday visited Nyanza region for the first time since he and President Kenyatta returned from China.

Residents were too anxious, with a lot of expectations from the former Prime Minister.

They expected him to talk about his promise to them. The AU envoy on his departure to China had assured Nyanza people that he was going alongside President Kenyatta to negotiate a deal for the extension of SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu.

While in Siaya on Saturday, Raila avoided talks on the stalled SGR extension and instead asked Kenyans to shun ethnicity.

 “We need to unite our people in diversity and shun ethnic divisions. We have a responsibility to make our nation’s diversity real without prejudice,” he said.

He was speaking in Gem, Siaya County, during a church service to mark the 60th death anniversary of his father-in-law Nehemiah Oyoo.

Disappointed Local leaders and residents said they expected Raila to address the SGR issue, since he is the one who made the promise just before the trip to China.

“I was keenly monitoring his speech in Gem because as our leader, I knew he came to explain to us the fate of the rail line. As a business community, we have been waiting for the SGR with excitement,” Kisumu businessman Ken Owade was quoted by a local daily.

Before leaving for China, Raila made a stopover in Sondu, Kisumu County and said: “I will be part of the delegation that will accompany the President to the Asian country next week. The new SGR line will extend from Naivasha to Narok, Bomet, Sondu and finally Kisumu. It will help revive the Kisumu inland port whose fortunes have dwindled due to the collapse of the dilapidated railway.”

Raila yesterday said he and President Kenyatta were committed to promote a more development conscious country.

“This is why we have started a new movement to create a borderless community bound by same cultural values as is emboldened in our national anthem,” he said.

Do you think an alternative will be found to extend the rail line from Naivasha to Kisumu?

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