The past two weeks has seen aspirants intensify their campaigns as the August 9 polls near. The burning issues emerging during the rallies include water scarcity and region’s political supremacy battles.
The Machakos governorship race is shaping into a battle of political heavyweights in the county and beyond.
It has attracted United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Chairman Johnson Muthama, former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita (Chama Cha Uzalendo), former Transport Chief Administrative Secretary Wavinya Ndeti (Wiper) and Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Maliti (Maendeleo Chap Chap Party).
Ms Rose Mulwa (Empowerment & Liberation Party) is also seeking to succeed Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua.
The burning issues emerging during the rallies are water scarcity, public debt and region’s political supremacy battles.
Mr Muthama sees the governorship as an opportunity to assert himself as the Kamba political kingpin, especially in case Deputy President William Ruto ascends to power.
Telling from the number of registered voters as per the 2017 Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission records, the race is concentrated in Mavoko (118,180 votes), Machakos Town (109,877 votes), Matungulu (66,611 votes), Kathiani (54, 909) and Kangundo (53,475) constituencies, which hold 65 per cent of the 620,254 registered voters in the county.
The remaining 35 per cent are spread across Mwala (81,273), Yatta (73, 940) and Masinga (61, 989) constituencies, which form a voting bloc known as weùnì (plains) in local political parlance.
Mr Maliti hails from Masinga, which borders Kitui County.
To address regional balance, he has picked Ms Rose Wambua, who hails from Kangundo Constituency, as his running mate.
“I am best suited to succeed Dr Mutua and advance his development plan since I understand his vision, having been by his side in the past nine years,” he said.
When Dr Mutua ditched Mr Raila Odinga's campaign and jumped into Dr Ruto's bandwagon, Mr Maliti was part of the Maendeleo Chap Chap Party team which followed suit.
He now has to confront sibling rivalry among Dr Ruto’s allies in the county which has seen Mr Muthama shunning the DP’s rallies attended by Dr Mutua.
The UDA chairman has picked former don Faith Muli, who hails from Mwala Constituency, as his running mate.
Mr Maliti's challengers, who believe Dr Mutua's administration has underperformed, are focusing on the shortcomings as they promote their gubernatorial bids.
Key among the issues Mr Maliti has to contend with are the county's pending bills, stalled projects and a ‘limping’ healthcare system.
According to Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu, the county owes contractors more than Sh2 billion.
Mr Muthama has vowed to convert White House — the Sh350 million governor's office block Dr Mutua set up at the proposed Machakos City — to a referral hospital if he becomes the county boss. He says the iconic building is a misplaced priority.
The UDA chairman has promised to address water scarcity, food insecurity and unemployment and improve education standards in the county while ensuring that theft of public funds is a thing of the past.
Mr Waita and Ms Ndeti have separately pledged to construct additional earth dams, sink more wells, and work with national agencies to provide clean and adequate water to residents.
Ms Ndeti sees agribusiness as a panacea to the economic hardships facing many residents as captured in her campaign mantra, leu mesani, mbesa muvukoni (food on the table, money in the pockets) as Mr Waita bets big on value addition and marketing of farm products.
Mr Waita's running mate, County Assembly Speaker Florence Mwangangi, has vowed to convert Mr Maliti's offices to cold stores for sorting fruits and vegetables before they are sold.
Mr Waita has also waded into the sand trade, a lucrative business controlled by powerful and ‘untouchable’ individuals.
He has promised to regulate sand harvesting in the streams and rivers passing through the county as a way of enhancing the resilience of riparian communities to drought by sustainably addressing water scarcity. He says this will also spur irrigation projects along the rivers to address food insecurity and create livelihoods, while creating decent sand mining and value addition opportunities.
The candidates are aware that they have to navigate the high political stakes defining the August 9 polls to actualise their dreams. The stakes include region’s supremacy battles.
Although MPs Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town) and Vincent Musyoka (Mwala) joined Dr Ruto's camp long before Mr Muthama, the UDA chairman still campaigns on the platform of spearheading the migration of the Kamba community from Mr Odinga to the DP’s side.
With his eyes firmly fixed on a 2027 presidential bid, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka does not take the threat to his political supremacy lightly.
Having suffered the past five years without a loyal governor in Ukambani, and the last 10 years with only former Kitui governor Julius Malombe as a dependable county chief in the region, Mr Musyoka is determined to have a loyal governor in Machakos.
To do this, the Wiper leader is banking on Ms Ndeti. She got direct nomination after Mr Musyoka prevailed on Mavoko MP Patrick Makau to drop out of the governor race.
Ms Ndeti, who hails from Mavoko Constituency, garnered 92,644 votes when she unsuccessfully ran against Dr Mutua in 2013 on a Chama Cha Uzalendo ticket.
Dr Mutua bagged 257, 607 votes that year. The gap between them narrowed significantly in 2017, with Ms Ndeti garnering 199, 257 votes when she ran on a Wiper ticket behind Dr Mutua who got 238,405 votes.
In a bid to accommodate the rural voting bloc, she has picked former Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi as her running mate. She banks on an extensive grassroots network she has established over the years.
Ms Ndeti's main headache is Mr Waita. He takes credit for many of the projects undertaken by the national government in the region.
Mr Waita, who styles himself as a manager rather than a politician, set tongues wagging when he picked Ms Mwangangi as his running mate.
Analysts saw the move by the soft-spoken Speaker, who uses the nickname Suluhu in political circles, as a huge blow to Mr Musyoka, considering that she was initially eyeing the Wiper ticket to contest the governor seat.
In a bid to bag the weunì votes, Mr Waita and Ms Mwangangi, who hail from Machakos Town Constituency, have incorporated former Water minister Mutua Katuku in their campaigns.
The veteran politician and People's Trust Party (PTP) leader hails from Mwala Constituency and is seeking the Senate seat on a PTP ticket.
TOMORROW : Siaya County, where James Orengo is having a battle of his life to be the county’s second governor
