Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Mutula factor in Cord’s unfolding political landscape

Mr Mutula Kilonzo jnr and Ms Kethi Kilonzo [Photos: Mutua Paul]

By Oscar Obonyo
The month of March is one that supporters of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) would wish to forget fast. Incidentally members of one family have carried their political hopes through to this day – the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo, his daughter Kethi and now son Mutula Jnr.
When Jubilee Coalition’s Uhuru Kenyatta was controversially declared winner of the March 4th presidential poll, the former Justice Minister set in motion a legal process to challenge the electoral body’s verdict. Alongside Siaya County Senator, James Orengo and Busia Senator Amos Wako, and former Attorney General, Mutula put together a solid legal team to overturn the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) decision.
But when Senior Counsel George Oraro’s case appeared to tumble following the Supreme Court’s decision to expunge an 800-page affidavit as evidence, another Kilonzo – Diana Kethi – stepped up to sustain the tempo. Appearing for Africog, she appeared to revive the otherwise crumbling Cord case with video evidence of manipulation of poll figures in Jubilee strongholds.      
The case was lost altogether and Kethi was called upon, yet again, to be the Cord flag bearer following the death of her father. There is no denying she was a red hot favourite as demonstrated by overtures made towards her, even by members of the rival coalition.
On Friday, the 36-year-old lawyer’s fate was sealed when the three-judge Bench of the High Court, upheld an earlier ruling of the IEBC tribunal barring her from contesting on account she was not validly registered as a voter.     
Luckily for Cord, the court gave the Wiper party, a chance to replace Kethi, thereby handing the baton to another Kilonzo to renew supporters’ hopes. Ideally, Kethi’s elder brother and fellow lawyer,Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, has momentarily uplifted hopes of the Wiper Party and Cord supporters.      
“We had no doubt about what we needed to do when the High Court stopped our number one choice candidate (Kethi) from vying for the Makueni seat. To our opponents, who tried to pull us down, we are now giving them Mutula for Mutula,” Machakos County Senator, Johnstone Muthama, told The Standard On Sunday. 
Muthama, who believably spearheaded the move to woo Kethi to vie for Senate, has refuted observations from some quarters that the party allegedly dragged the lawyer into politics against her will and now to her own detriment.  
“Those advancing such positions are neither friends of our party nor of the Mutula family,” the Senator responded to our inquiries.
He explained that Cord, as well as his Wiper party were a well-knitted outfit out to give the electorate the best choice and one that they yearn for. Muthama maintains that the Kilonzo children are adults who are willingly political participants of a just process that their late father cherished and advocated for.
That the Cord leadership is elated by participation of the Mutula children in the coalition’s activities, is not in doubt. During Kethi’s presentation of nomination papers in Wote town, the coalition’s top leadership led by Raila and Kalonzo accompanied her.
Similarly, the duo led the Cord fraternity yesterday in escorting Mutula Jnr in presenting his papers to the Makueni County IEBC Returning Officer. The high profile attention the Makueni campaign has attracted speaks volumes about Cord’s fears and opportunities.
Infiltrate
There are fears that Jubilee was going to use the by-election to infiltrate the former VP’s political backyard in Ukambani. This is evident from the fact that Kalonzo’s key allies, including former Kibwezi MP Phillip Kaloki and former Kaiti MP Gideon Ndambuki, have already decamped to Jubilee. In fact Kaloki is the Coalition’s candidate for the Makueni seat.    
In the same breadth, Cord is putting up a huge show in the campaign for purposes of reigniting the political support across the country. Otherwise, campaigns for this single seat in a predominantly Cord zone, should ordinarily not be an exciting matter. What is exciting, though, are the fears that the President’s coalition could snatch the seat. 
But Yatta MP, Francis Mwangangi, who is allied to the Jubilee coalition, explains that the current mood in Makueni is in favour of a member of the Mutula family. This, he observes, is irrespective of political party leaning – a factor that may have initially persuaded Jubilee to reach out to Kethi and her stepmother, Nduku Kilonzo.
According to Mwangangi, Junior was an apt choice considering the short campaign period of one week. In fact his sister, Kethi, had already done the bidding for him: “Although the people of Makueni wanted Kethi, Junior will serve the purpose under the circumstances.” 
As in March, when it all started, the uplifting of the spirits of the Cord supporters are hinged – again – on the Mutula family.

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