President Uhuru’s popularity among Kenyans has increased tremendously compared to that of former Prime Minister and Cord leader Raila Odinga, according to the latest poll by Ipsos.

According to the poll, 51 per cent of Kenyans would vote for Uhuru, with only 28 per cent saying they would cast their ballot for Odinga, creating a gap of 23 percent.In a similar poll conducted by Ipsos in November last year, the gap between Uhuru and the former Prime Minister was 11 per cent with figures of 40 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

“The fact that a full one-third of opposition loyalists are prepared to give him such approval suggests a significant weakening of opposition’s base,” Ipsos says in its analysis.

Out of the 31 per cent who disapproved his performance, 39 percent tie corruption to their disapproval, while 19 percent cited the state of the economy with 6 percent singling out the infrastructure.

Generally, the poll indicates that Jubilee government’s performance has improved by 3 per cent since November 2015, with an overall performance of 6 per cent since 2014.

Jubilee government performance indicators

The survey gives Uhuru an approval rating of 68 per cent in the last three months.

“The President’s approval ratings for his performance over the last three months have bounced back from those recorded last November with a gain of nearly 20 percent. He however is yet to attain the even higher figures he enjoyed previously – between 73 percent and 78 percent towards the end of 2014,” says the survey.

Respondents interviewed in the survey, which was released yesterday mainly identified infrastructure (13 per cent), education (15 per cent) and the economy (13 per cent) as the major achievements of President Kenyatta’s government.

President Uhuru rating is higher in Jubilee strong holds; Central Kenya (88 percent), followed by Rift Valley (71 percent) and Eastern region’s (68 percent). Uhuru scores poorly in Nyanza and fails to get at least a majority of this view, with a whopping 62 percent disapproving his performance countrywide.

The survey was conducted during from June 4 to 18 and targeted 2,076 respondents.

KENYANS DECRY HIGH COST OF LIVING

The high cost of living continues to be the most serious problem facing Kenyans followed by corruption at 20 percent and lack of employment at 15 per cent.