For a man who represents a constituency whose lawmakers have distinguished themselves for going against the grain, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse seems undeterred by the attention he has been receiving after tabling the motion to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The man from Makueni County has faced intense scrutiny, particularly on social media, since Tuesday, October 1.
Some of the material tailored to mock the first-time legislator elected on a Maendeleo Chap Chap Party ticket include a photograph showing a long queue of jerry cans lined at a water kiosk ostensibly taken in the constituency to depict his supposed wrong priorities.
But Mr Mutuse has dismissed the trolling as part of a broader smear campaign by his local political rivals after he hogged the limelight.
"Tell your bloggers that the photos they are sharing about water are shaming you because (provision of) water is devolved," Mr Mutuse said, directing the barb at Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior, who had wondered why President William Ruto's allies had settled on Mr Mutuse to table the impeachment motion.
Tabling of the impeachment motion on Tuesday October 1 has shone a spotlight on Mr Mutuse and the constituency which analysts see as a petri dish of Ukambani’s political dissent.
A lawyer and advocate of the High Court who cut his teeth as a student leader at the University of Nairobi, Mr Mutuse surmounted a strong challenge mounted by allies of Dr Ruto during the 2022 General Election. They had rallied behind businessman James Mbaluka, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate in the Kibwezi West parliamentary race.
Ultimately, Mr Mutuse bagged 30, 821 ahead of his key challengers, Mr Mbaluka (UDA), Juliana Kisimbii (Democratic Party) and Oscar Ngomeli, (Wiper).
Kibwezi West Constituency, which is home to 91,554 registered voters, according to the updated Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission voter register, sits at the centre of three constituencies which form the Mombasa Road voting band in Makueni County's political geography.
It is the third-most populous constituency in the county after Makueni and Mbooni. It is also the only constituency in the Ukambani region which has consistently given Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, the perceived regional kingpin, sleepless nights for the last two decades.
Zooming out, however, analysts say Mr Mutuse has been walking a well-trodden path followed by former Kibwezi political mavericks who have dared to reimagine the region's political future. These include former Kibwezi MPs Agnes Ndetei, Mutinda Mboko, Kalembe Ndile and Patrick Musimba.
The original Kibwezi Constituency was created in 1988 during President Daniel arap Moi’s regime and was known for towns like Emali, Makindu, Kibwezi, Mtito Andei and Kambu. It was split into Kibwezi West and Kibwezi East after the 2010 Constitution took effect.
After the split, Mr Mutuse’s constituency has carried on the defiant Kibwezi tradition more colourfully.
"Kibwezi West Constituency is not known for favouring conformists. It goes against mainstream political waves to elect its leaders. This is a tradition which dates back to the days of Agnes Ndetei who was elected on a Democratic Party ticket when it was unthinkable to challenge the Kanu hegemony in the region," said Peter Kiuluku, a governance expert and political analyst who has studied the Ukambani political scene for decades.
Ms Ndetei was a Kanu MP from 1988 during the one-party rule before defecting to the newfangled opposition Democratic Party ahead of the first multiparty elections in 1992. She won against a strong wave by President Moi’s allies but defected a few years later back to Kanu, winning the subsequent by-election.
Ms Ndetei, considered the “Iron Lady of Ukambani” at the time before Ms Charity Ngilu took over, lost to Mr Onesmus Mutinda Mboko of the Social Democratic Party in the 1997 election. The controversial Ms Ndetei later took a low profile and at one time relocated to the United States before attempting a political comeback and returning to the limelight for selling herbal medicine.
Mr Ndile would take over Kibwezi in 2002, spurred by the Narc wave that swept the country. He did not fit the profile of Kenya’s typical politician. Mr Ndile was a maverick pro-poor MP who styled himself as “Mtoto wa Squatter” (a squatter’s son)— and was also a squatter for years. Despite admitting that he had limited education, he crafted effective messaging as he went about fighting for the rights of the landless in Kibwezi. The politician, who died in May 2021, rose to become a significant player in national politics and served as an Assistant Minister.
Prof Philip Kaloki won on an ODM-Kenya ticket—a victory that did not defy the regional script at the time but things would return to the unusual in 2013 when former Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology lecturer Patrick Musimba, an independent candidate, stunned veteran politicians to become the MP of Kibwezi West. Mr Mutuse, who flew the Wiper flag in the 2013 Kibwezi West MP race, and Mr Ndile are among the candidates Dr Musimba floored. He would further defy the wave by subsequently winning a by-election after his victory was nullified, cementing the constituency’s reputation.
Dr Musimba, considered an outsider who did not conform to the wishes of the dominant Wiper Party and its leader Kalonzo Musyoka, would repeat the feat as an independent candidate in 2017. His run eventually ended when he unsuccessfully bid to be Makueni governor in 2022.
Dr Kiuluku, the political analyst, told Nation.Africa the “peculiar” voting behaviour can be attributed to urbanisation along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
"Kibwezi West Constituency hosts some of the most vibrant townships along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway whose public spheres have over the years influenced politics through spurring political consciousness and radicalising residents," he said.
Out of the six wards in Kibwezi West Constituency, Maendeleo Chap Chap Party dominates with two MCAs. Wiper secured only one seat just like UDA and Muungano Party. Makindu MCA is independent. The voting pattern has remained more or less the same since.
Way before he became an ally of President Ruto, Mr Mutuse was one of his fiercest critics. A year before he became MP, the former Machakos County chief of staff had stunned Dr Ruto on one side and a combination of Mr Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi (now Prime Cabinet Secretary) and Mr Moses Wetang’ula (now National Assembly Speaker) by delivering the victory of former Nguu/Masumba MCA Timothy Maneno during a by-election.
Dr Ruto had cast his lot with Daniel Musau while Mr Musyoka, Mr Mudavadi and Mr Wetangula had rallied behind Eshio Mwaiwa, the Wiper candidate.
Mr Mutuse and former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana had rallied behind Mr Maneno who was an independent candidate.
A shocking last-minute decision by the former vice president to step down the Kibwezi West parliamentary Wiper candidate in the 2022 polls, Mr Ngomeli, and instead endorse Mr Mutuse, laid bare the challenges faced by Wiper in penetrating the constituency.
"To demonstrate that I am a true team leader, I announce the stepping down of the Wiper candidate in the Kibwezi West parliamentary race and instead help my brother Mwengi Mutuse to win the seat because we do not want to give UDA a chance in this region. He is a good man. Once you get the seat, you will be Wiper-in -waiting and you will not collaborate again with other people to try to divide the Kamba community," Mr Musyoka said during a rally at Wote Town.
However, Mr Mutuse set tongues wagging when he dumped the Azimio coalition and joined the Kenya Kwanza bandwagon shortly after Dr Ruto floored Mr Odinga.
"When I was campaigning I pledged the tarmacking of key roads and other mega projects. Such projects cannot be realised while I am in the opposition," he would explain the decision, sparking cheers and jeers in the constituency and beyond.
Mr Kilonzo Jnr and Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua are among Wiper leaders who have openly read mischief in Mr Mutuse's tabling of the impeachment motion against Mr Gachagua.
They say Ukambani should stand in solidarity with the Deputy President, arguing that Mr Musyoka's 2027 presidential dream stands to reap immensely from the Mt Kenya voting bloc in the wake of the imminent fallout between President Ruto and his deputy.
