Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has thrown wide open the race for the county assembly Speaker seat by keeping his allies guessing.
The Nation has established that former Speaker Douglas Mbilu, his predecessor Stephen Ngelu, former Kenya Medical Training College board chairman Philip Kaloki, lawyer Dennis Mung’ata, businessman Muema Ndungi and former Ukia MCA Joseph Katumo had returned their nomination papers on Friday ahead of today’s deadline.
They met MCAs in turns over the weekend as they stepped up their campaigns ahead of Wednesday’s election of Speaker.
With 23 of 47 MCAs lined up for swearing in, Mr Musyoka’s party is the strongest in the assembly.
Curiously, he has not endorsed any of his allies—Prof Kaloki, Mr Mbilu and Mr Katumo.
“The party leader has not yet guided us on how we shall approach the election... We expect him to so that we can speak in one voice,” a Wiper MCA told the Nation in confidence.
In the run-up to the August 9 General Election, the Wiper leader persuaded Prof Kaloki to quit the race for Makueni governor and instead try his luck for Nairobi governor where he vied as Polycarp Igathe’s running mate.
After Mr Igathe lost to Governor Johnson Sakaja, Prof Kaloki expects Mr Musyoka to rally Wiper MCAs behind his candidature.
But Mr Mbilu also expects Mr Musyoka to hand him the Speaker post to placate him for accepting to delay his Makueni MP bid in favour of Ms Suzanne Kiamba.
Mr Musyoka had promised to hire Mr Mbilu in the office of the Chief Minister—a position he would have occupied had Mr Raila Odinga won the presidency.
“In seeking the Speaker position, I’m not looking for a job or an opportunity to make money but to create an enabling environment for the county government to deliver services to the people,” Mr Ndungi said.
Mr Katumo, who was the chairman of the assembly Agriculture committee, resonates with a section of the Wiper MCAs.
Although Mr Mung’ata sees himself as the most suitable for the position since he is a lawyer of repute, he has painstakingly fought claims that he can easily be compromised owing to his relationship with Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.
“I’m an independent person who believes in democratic processes. The governor should be given a chance to deliver his manifesto so that he can be evaluated at the end of the term rather than being frustrated because of political competition,” he said.
The veteran lawyer sees Prof Kaloki as his greatest challenger and believes the former KMTC boss “is out to frustrate the governor since he has his eyes set on the seat in 2027”.
Prof Kaloki has, however, dismissed the claim as “baseless propaganda”. He is among those flashing the regional balancing card as they woo ward reps.
They argue that the Speaker should come from either Kibwezi West or Kibwezi East constituencies, the two regions that are not represented in the county seats.
“Mbooni has the governor, Kilome has the Woman Rep and Makueni has the senator. At the same time, Makueni has already produced a Speaker,” Prof Kaloki said in reference to Mr Mbilu.
But Mr Mbilu has dismissed the narrative, saying, he should be judged by his track record, including forging a conducive working environment between the assembly and the executive.
However, he is haunted by his frosty relationship with the executive during his term, a situation that almost brought the county government to its knees.
“As lobbying intensifies, MCAs should remember this is a serious issue which requires soul searching so that they come up with a person who will ... lead the county assembly to cooperate and not to compromise with the executive,” Bishop Japheth Munyao said yesterday.
