Monday, June 24, 2013

Kethi Kilonzo’s exit was a tactical retreat, Wiper MPs now say

Updated Monday, June 24th 2013 at 08:55 GMT +3


By Onesmus Nzioka
 The recent announcement by Kethi Kilonzo opting out of the Makueni Senate race was a ploy, we can now reveal.
In a tweet, Kethi had said she would not compete against her mother Nduku Kilonzo, as that would amount to a curse.
“A child does not compete with the mother. It is a curse. I will not support Jubilee. To stand with my father’s enemies is a worse curse,” she stated.
But according to Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, this was a scheme by Coalition of Reforms and Democracy (CORD) to avoid a spat between Kethi and Nduku. Muthama revealed this when he led other Kamba leaders at Wote,Makueni County to endorse Kethi for the seat.
“The Jubilee Alliance wanted to set the stage where mother and daughter would hurl insults at one another during the campaigns, but we were smart and told her to behave like a respectable child and withdraw from the race,” said Muthama.
He said the Jubilee alliance had planned to sponsor Nduku in order to frustrate Kethi. “Wiper has already concluded the issue of its candidate for the Makueni senate by-election and it is an issue we are no longer talking about. Kethi is our candidate,” said Mbooni MP Kisoi Munyao.
Flag bearer
“As the MP for Mbooni where the late Mutula Kilonzo came from, I have been part of the planning on the succession issue and I can confirm to you Kethi is the candidate we have identified as a party to fill the seat,” he added.
Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo said Kethi’s silence was just a scheme to confuse their rivals, but CORD had already agreed on Kethi as its flag bearer in the July 22 by-election.
 “I can assure you Kethi has already presented her nomination papers to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and we are only waiting for July 1 to launch a campaign never before witnessed in Makueni,” said Maanzo.
He said CORD will after the clearance of Kethi between June 26 and 27 they would hold a mammoth road show along the Nairobi–Mombasa Highway, with several stopovers along various towns along the highway.
The Wiper MPs said the issue of Kethi’s candidature is no longer an issue and that there is no other candidate the party was in dialogue with for the same seat. Maanzo said CORD was determined to retain the seat left vacant after the death the former Wiper Secretary General.
Although there has been a screaming silence from the Wiper top leadership over its candidate, Maanzo and Kisoi said they are the final decision makers as MPs from Makueni and that the people of Makuenishould be ready to vote for Kethi.
Wiper chairman David Musila has not helped matters on clarification of the party’s plans but appear to confirm Kethi’s candidature from the statements he makes in public. Recently, Musila was on record saying, “I would like to requestMakueni voters to be ready for Kethi or anybody else as a Wiper candidate.”
Unimaginable margins
Musila also said that the party will not disclose its candidate until June 26 when they present him or her to the county returning officer for clearance.
Analysts say Kethi is just trying to walk in the footsteps of her late father who took his time to announce his candidature but beat his competitors with unimaginable margins.
Mutula only went public about his interest in theMakueni Senate seat in January 2013, and beat his closest competitor Harun Mwau by over 140, 000 votes in the March 4 General Election.
Sources told The County Weekly that Jubilee, which received little backing in the entire Ukambani region during the General Election is determined to grab the Makueni seat from Wiper while CORD is in a bid to pull the region to its side. CORD on the other hand through its deputy leader Kalonzo Musyoka has vowed to retain the seat.

No comments:

Post a Comment