Why Raila kept off SGR talks on his first Nyanza tour since China return

On Saturday, Nyanza residents knew that ODM leader and the region’s political kingpin could address the issue of the stalled Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) extension from Naivasha to Kisumu. But was it the case?

The ODM leader avoided talks on the issue like a plaque! Raila seemed to be driving the agenda of uniting Kenyans which is the main purpose of his handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta, and could not afford talking regional matters that could have been tribal based.

He asked Kenyans to shun ethnicity instead.

“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.

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

Raila also 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.

He had earlier promised Nyanza residents that he was accompanying President Kenyatta to China for a negotiation deal into the extension of SGR to Kisumu.

Before leaving for China, he 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.”

Do you think this promise is now completely dead now that none of President Kenyatta and Raila is talking about it since their return from China?

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