With barely 10 days to the Wiper Party nominations, the party leader Kalonzo Musyoka is walking on a tight rope after his allies, who are eyeing the governorship in Kitui and Machakos counties, failed to agree on how to approach the August 9 General Election.
Months of concerted efforts to broker a deal between former Kitui governor Julius Malombe and Kiema Kilonzo , the immediate former Kenyan envoy in Uganda, who are eyeing the Wiper ticket to enter the governorship race have failed.
A similar standoff in Machakos pitting former Transport Chief Administrative Secretary Wavinya Ndeti and Mavoko MP Patrick Makau has rocked the region's most popular party.
While launching his governorship bid on Saturday, Dr Malombe appealed to voters in the county to unite to defeat governor Charity Ngilu.
Dr Malombe, having served for one term, lost to Ms Ngilu in the 2017 governor contest.
“We should join hands to redeem our county in terms of development for the benefit of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,” he told dozens of delegates at Kitui Town.
Marketing himself as the most suitable leader to take over from Ms Ngilu in the August 9 General Election as he is tried and tested, Dr Malombe likened the county under Ms Ngilu’s administration to a vehicle running downhill on autopilot.
Former Kitui governor Julius Malombe (right) and immediate former Kenyan envoy in Uganda Kiema Kilonzo. The two are eyeing Wiper ticket for Kitui governor's seat.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“We all need to act swiftly before this vehicle plunges into a 50 feet gully downhill and crushes with all of us on board,” he said.
With this message, Dr Malombe also targeted his rivals in the Kitui governorship race.
Apart from Mr Kilonzo, his challengers include former Kitui senator David Musila who will contest the governorship run on a Jubilee ticket and former Nairobi deputy governor Jonathan Mueke who is running on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket.
The entry of Mr Musyoka’s son, Kelvin Muasya, has complicated the Wiper nomination race. Mr Muasya is expected to be Mr Kilonzo’s running mate.
The former vice president recently said that he had allowed his scion to try his luck in politics “but cautioned him to be careful lest he spoils my politics”.
Mr Musyoka, who is seeking to consolidate his support base, has severally expressed fears that a contest pitting Dr Malombe, Mr Musila, and Mr Kilonzo could play into the hands of Ms Ngilu as it did in the 2017 General Election.
He has severally called on them to agree on how to approach the August 9 General Election themselves rather than forcing the party to subject them to a nomination.
“The rules of the party say that when two or more members who have paid the nomination fee have failed to build consensus, they should be subjected to a nomination,” the Mavoko MP said on Wednesday.
Mr Makau is locked in a bitter standoff with Ms Ndeti. The two relatives but political arch rivals are eyeing the Wiper ticket to contest in the Machakos governorship race.
Former Transport Chief Administrative Secretary Wavinya Ndeti and Mavoko MP Patrick Makau.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Aware that rivals may interfere with the Wiper nominations, Ms Ndeti who characterises the governorship contest as an opportunity for the Machakos residents to reclaim their stolen victory insists that Mr Musyoka should give her a direct ticket.
Sources close to Mr Musyoka told Nation.Africa that although he prefers Ms Ndeti to fly the Wiper ticket in the gubernatorial race, a survey commissioned by the party whose results were tabled at its national executive council on Tuesday shows Mr Makau is more popular.
Buoyed by the results of the survey which shows that 58 percent of those polled prefer him while 31 percent of those polled prefer Ms Ndeti, and determined to rebuff the intense pressure to quit the governorship race, a livid Mr Makau on Wednesday indicated that he was ready to ditch Mr Musyoka’s party and vie as an independent candidate in the event the party goes ahead and grants Ms Ndeti's wishes.
“The stick that Moses used to part the Red Sea waters for the Israelites to cross over had not been labelled Wiper, or Jubilee, or ODM. I only require the backing of the people of Kaloleni to cross over,” he said at Kaloleni region in his backyard.
The standoff comes when Wiper’s grip of the region is reeling under multiple threats posed by parties which are also interested in the Machakos governorship race. UDA is fronting its chairman Johnson Muthama who is Mr Musyoka’s erstwhile bosom buddy as Maendeleo Chap Chap party fronts Dr Mutua’s deputy, Francis Maliti.
The most recent threat comes from Chama cha Uzalendo (CCU), whose Machakos gubernatorial candidate is Nzioka Waita, the former State House chief of staff who has taken over the reins of the party.
Mr Waita has recently pulled a fast one on Mr Musyoka by poaching Machakos Assembly Speaker Florence Mwangangi who had declared interest in the Machakos governorship race on a Wiper ticket.
She has since ditched Wiper, joined CCU and became Mr Waita’s running mate.
The move by CCU has divided the Wiper dominated Machakos County Assembly with Mr Musyoka’s allies led by Kivaa MCA and the deputy majority leader Justus Muasya threatening to impeach Ms Mwangangi.
On Thursday, however, a rival group of MCAs led by former Majority Leader Francis Ngunga defended the Speaker and called out their Wiper colleagues.
