Raila heads for Meru in votes hunt

Cord leader Raila Odinga at a past event. He will visit Meru County on April 29, 2016. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • The President signed into law a Bill categorising the stimulant as a cash crop.
  • Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a Sh1 billion fund to cushion farmers from the ban.

Cord leader Raila Odinga begins a tour of Meru from Saturday to woo voters in the region.

The visit will target miraa farmers whose fortunes have plunged following a ban on the miraa trade in Europe and Tanzania.

Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a Sh1 billion fund to cushion farmers from the ban.

The President signed into law a Bill categorising the stimulant as a cash crop.

The decision to allocate the money to farmers follows requests from Meru leaders, who demanded action after the crop was banned in the UK and the Netherlands two years ago.

Three weeks ago, Mr Odinga went to Tanzania, where he and President John Magufuli discussed a number of issues, including resuming the miraa trade that was banned by Tanzania’s first President Julius Nyerere many years ago.

Many Tanzanians, especially those living near the border with Kenya, such as Namanga, often cross over to the Kenyan side to buy and chew miraa.