Kenya Insights

Tag: Ukambani politics

  • Will the ground shift if Kalonzo backs Odinga?

    Will the ground shift if Kalonzo backs Odinga?

    There is a loud mumbling in Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Party with junior politicians giving him ultimatums if he bends low to become Raila Odinga’s running mate for the third time.

    A section of Ukambani lawmakers led by Kitui senator Enock Wambua warned Kalonzo that such a move will lead to automatic withdrawal of their support.

    The politician are urging Kalonzo to man up and better his chances of capturing the country’s top seat or lose their support to the Deputy President Dr. William Ruto whose UDA party is making inroads into the region.

    But pundits also argue that the MPs who are against Kalonzo supporting Odinga are only doing so to benefit from the former VP’s influence to win re-election.

    Kalonzo who appears to have been shocked by the daring move from his would be sycophants has not reacted to the MPs calls, meaning he could be in agreement with the leaders.

    He has bragged over his long political resume either as observers point that the ultimatum has not gone down well with him. Reports that the ground is shifting to Ruto can only spell doom to a man who is nothing without the Kamba voters solidly behind him.

    There are also reports that the MPs are not being used by any politician to influence Kalonzo meaning there could be truths in their calls.

    This section of politicians are against Raila who has been having under hands in portraying his competitors as weak politicians in their home turfs.

    The move is a clever way of luring Kalonzo not support Raila for the third straight time without success but instead join Ruto since everybody knows that Kalonzo cannot win the presidency if he goes for it.

    But Kalonzo cannot make the brave move since he has been pocked by President Uhuru Kenyatta who is out to shoot his deputy’s dreams of becoming the next president of Kenya.

    Uhuru himself has failed to stop Ruto from making inroads into his Mt. Kenya backyard where elected leaders are shifting the allegiance to the DP on daily basis.

    The president is pushing Kalonzo to back Raila but reliable sources revealed to KI that the MPs move is  a way of telling him to keep off Kamba politics and let the make an alternative move.

     

     

     

     

  • UDA wars intensify in Muthama’s backyard

    UDA wars intensify in Muthama’s backyard

    The former senator of Machakos, Bwana Johnson Muthama is facing serious criticism from followers of the United Democratic Alliance in Ukamba.

    His closer allies including Ben Metho have threatened to desert the outspoken politician whom they accuse of arrogance, pride and misplaced dictatorship.

    Metho who has been rumoured of holding night meetings with Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka now claims that the future of UDA in Ukambani remains bleak since Muthama turned into a ‘Mr know it all’ who bullies party supporters.

    UDA which is associated with the Deputy President Dr. William Ruto was recently floored in a Machakos senatorial by-election. Metho who has made up his mind to quit the UDA party claims that Muthama secretly campaigned for his estranged wife Agnes Kavindu who won the seat.

    UDA follower Ben Metho and DP William Ruto in an old courtesy photo.

    Muthama was among the first politicians to congratulate Kavindu senator  after the win.

    Metho added that Muthama is being ditched by most of his former as he called on UDA to do a post mortem to establish why it lost the Machakos senatorial by-election where it was expected to win.

    But Metho continues to hold night meetings with Kalonzo who is laying out strategies to tame Muthama ahead of next year general elections.

    Muthama fell out with the former VP and Kamba politics supremo after he openly stated that Kalonzo is not ripe for presidency in 2022.

    The former Machakos Senator has maintained that UDA leader William Rutois the man to beat in August 2022 general elections.

    Other ranking politician from the region who are eyeing presidency apart from Kalonzo are Machakos governor Alfred Mutua and his Makueni counterpart Kivutha Kibwana who parted ways with Kalonzo.

    But it’s not only Metho, many first term MPs from Ukambani who are allied to the DP Ruto have also accused Muthama of pocketing their hand-outs from the country’s second in command.

     

  • Why Kalonzo was irked with Ngilu’s presence at the State House meeting

    Why Kalonzo was irked with Ngilu’s presence at the State House meeting

    President Uhuru Kenyatta chaired a meeting of BBI proponents on Thursday last week, two days after nearly forty counties voted in support of the Amendment Bill. The privately invited attendees included the Former VP Kalonzo Musyoka, former PM Raila Odinga, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, Moses Wetangula and Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu.

    But Kalonzo was not happy with the presence of governor Charity Ngilu during the meeting held at state house, Nairobi. The former VP believes he is still the undisputed leader of the Kamba people despite his position being under numerous attacks by budding politicians like Alfred Mutua and Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana.

    Seasoned politicians like Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu has also locked horns with the former VP whom she describes a coward who can not lead the Kamba people.

    The two leaders have been embroiled in supremacy wars for a long time but Kalonzo still believes he is the man to represent the interests of his Ukambani backyard without tagging Ngilu.

    Baringo Senator addressing the nation after the state house meeting. [p/courtesy]
    The two leaders been faking a close working relationship while selling BBI in their region but Kalonzo still feels threatened even as pressure mounts on the ‘Super Seven’ to strike a balance and push the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) through then remain united and form the next government when Kenyatta retires in 2022.

    Their biggest threat is the Deputy President William Ruto who is opposing the BBI document and has been running a lone race but raiding rival political blocs and making inroads as he prepares to capture presidency next year.

    Other than Ngilu, Kalonzo is also bickering with the DP Ruto who accused him of grabbing the NYS land in Yatta and the ODM leader Raila Odinga who has played him over their 2017 deal in which Raila had promised to back him in 2022.

    The relation between Kalonzo and Ngilu is deteriorating at the time when the president calling on the BBI proponents to slow down on intra-alliance wars in order to tackle the DP.