It would be a curse to contest against my mother – Kethi

By OLIVE BURROWS | June 11, 2013

“A child does not compete with the mother. It is a curse”/CFM

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 11 – Kethi Kilonzo has dropped out of the Makueni Senate racesaying it would be a curse to contest against her step-mother Nduku Kilonzo.

Kethi made the revelation on Tuesday morning through her twitter account.

“A child does not compete with the mother. It is a curse,” she said but on the same breath added: “I will not support Jubilee. To stand with my father’s enemies is a worse curse.”

Mutula Kilonzo’s widow, Nduku, has been touted as the possible Jubilee candidate under the NARC party, an affiliate of the Jubilee Alliance, but party leader Kiema Kilonzo has denied this.

Nduku’s entry into the race placed Kethi in a quandary even as the Wiper party said it was ready to stand her down to avoid causing a split in the family.

On Tuesday, Kethi tweeted: “Today is a dark day. May the people of Makueni and all who have stood with me one day find it in their hearts to forgive me.”

The daughter of the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo, made it clear that although she will not stand against her step mother, she will also not support her bid on a Jubilee ticket.

Supporting Jubilee would feel like a betrayal of her father, who was Secretary General of the Wiper Democratic Movement.

Kethi has until this latest revelation kept her candidacy closely guarded, and this is the first time she has come out openly on her decision regarding the July 22 by-election.

Kiema Kilonzo has been quoted saying NARC is backing Professor Philip Kaloki for the Makueni Senate seat after conducting an internal selection.

Kethi would have truly followed in her father’s footsteps had she coupled her success in the legal fraternity – on account the accolades she earned for her performance during the presidential petition – with success in the political arena by winning the Makueni Senate seat.