SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015
Wiper Democratic Movement Leader Kalonzo Musyoka addresses wananchi during the launch of voter and identity card registration at Mlolongo, Machakos County.
More by this Author
Recent show of bravado by Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua is causing discomfort in the Wiper party and threatening to disrupt Ukambani politics.
Questions are now being raised whether the political equation in Ukambani region is about to change or if it is just a storm in a tea cup?
Already, factions are beginning to form among the political leadership of the region with some siding with the “old order” represented by Wiper Democratic Movement party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and the other with the “new order” whose chief priest is Dr Mutua.
In the two years that the governor has been selling his “Maendeleo chap chap” ideology to his county, he has also won over some leaders who feel it is time to chart a new course for the entire region and which cannot be achieved through the old order.
“Kalonzo has reached his peak, there was Paul Ngei and then Mulu Mutisya. Our hopes are on Mutua,” Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka and a key Mutua ally told the Sunday Nation, quoting a popular Kamba saying that “nguma nithamaa” (fame or popularity shifts from generation to generation).
According to Mr Munyaka, the governor’s development record had endeared him to the rest of Kenya.
WISHFUL THINKING
But the former Vice-President, who has been the undisputed leader of the Kamba Nation for years now, dismissed Dr Mutua’s activities as wishful thinking.
He told the Sunday Nation that much as people were free to speak their minds, there was no possibility of staging a coup through the back door.
“That is wishful thinking. The people are solidly behind us. No question about that,” Mr Kalonzo said.
Some of the former VP’s supporters are unamused by Dr Mutua’s political activities, saying the governor is a “very junior person” to even be compared to the Wiper leader.
But despite enjoying growing support among the people, Dr Mutua says he is not interested in supremacy battles.
“Some leaders are saying that I am dividing the Kamba community due to my style of politics. I want to tell them that my development agenda will go on whether they like it or not since I am with the masses,” said Dr Mutua.
He added: “I have no time to engage in fighting to become a tribal kingpin. My agenda is to see that our people have water, good roads and hospitals so that they live in dignity.”
'NO ROMANCE'
Still, Dr Mutua continued his attacks on the old order saying there is nothing good in poverty and wondered why those against him want to rejoice in seeing their people remaining poor.
Speaking through his press Secretary Mutinda Mwanzia, Dr Mutua said:
“I always say there is no romance in poverty. My desire is to see Ukambani, which has the potential of becoming a political and economic powerhouse in the country, achieve that dream. It is wrong for any leader to aspire to become a tribal Kingpin yet his people are poor. God did not create us to continue wallowing in underdevelopment as a community.”
Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, one of the governor’s harshest critics, has asked residents not to be convinced by mere public pronouncements by the governor, but rather interrogate his delivery on matters that are critical to their livelihoods like healthcare, water, infrastructure and most importantly, accountability.
“I am not in any competition with Governor Mutua as some have said, but all we are asking is that residents should not be taken for a ride through mere launching of projects that usually never help the residents,” said Mr Muthama.
He called on the county residents to be wary of empty promises.
“Any money diverted elsewhere through corruption is an injustice to the tax payers, who deserve better services and residents must always insist on accountability particularly on expenditure and on development issues,” said the senator.
On his part, Wiper Organising Secretary and Kathiani MP Robert Mbui blamed Jubilee Alliance for fanning the rebellion and disorder in the Wiper party to cause political instability in the region.
Mr Mbui, while acknowledging Dr Mutua’s development record, warned those who feel they have the muscle to challenge the region’s leadership to do so at their own peril.
“As a party we are not disturbed by what is currently happening. We just want those who feel they have the muscle to soldier on. We will meet them at the ballot box come 2017,” said Mr Mbui.
Analysts have observed that while Dr Mutua’s developments empowers him to retain his seat, those on his side may not survive the Wiper onslaught and could be swept away by the wave come 2017.
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Alfred-Mutua-Kalonzo-Musyoka-Ukambani-Politics/-/1064/2834474/-/r5tnpm/-/index.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment