This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
As the 2022 general election draws near, Raila Odinga's sister Ruth Odinga has expressed her concerns about the lack of support from the people of the Nyanza region for her brother's presidential ambitions.
Speaking at an aspirants' meeting on October 28, 2021, Ruth Odinga stated that the people of the Nyanza region have been reluctant to register as voters, leaving Raila Odinga to face a tough battle ahead of the elections.
She blamed the people for making Odinga a loner, stating that they have only been talking for far too long without taking concrete actions to support his State House bid.
"We sit back and we say this time around, we're clinching the Presidency yet you're not registering as voters. You are looking at Raila going up and climbing Mount Kenya and suffering going down to Turkana and everywhere," she stated.
According to Ruth Odinga, Odinga has been enjoying the support and gaining more people in voter-rich regions to support his bid, yet the people from his own region have no votes.
"You're seeing crowds that are coming from other regions to support him, who are willing to come up and do everything and they have votes. You say Raila is moving closer to becoming the president yet you have no votes," she stated.
As of October 25, 2021, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had registered a mere 800,462 new voters out of the Commission's target of 4.5 million, with only 138,697 new voters from the Nyanza region turning out for the exercise out of IEBC's target of 991,456.
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati had earlier raised an alarm over the low voter registration turnout, urging Kenyans to come out and register before the November 2 deadline.
