Viewed as a political threat to President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is not sitting pretty in his Ukambani backyard.
Unlike the second term of the Jubilee administration when the region only had Monica Juma in Uhuru Kenyatta’s Cabinet, President Ruto has given Mr Musyoka’s backyard three Cabinet posts.
These are Dr Alfred Mutua (Foreign Affairs) and Peninah Malonza (Tourism) while Ms Juma has been retained, and named National Security Advisor, a Cabinet-level appointment.
The region also boasts of three Principal Secretaries- Teresia Mbaika Malokwe (Cabinet Affairs), Veronica Mueni Nduva (Gender and Affirmative Action) and Jonathan Mueke (Sports and Arts), something which pundits view as a scheme by President Ruto to woo Ukambani to rally behind him.
In the August General Election, with the help of the likes of CS Mutua and UDA chairman Johnson Muthama, the three counties of Ukambani- Machakos, Kitui and Makueni, gave the President 250,070 votes which is 24 per cent compared to 192,646 votes of Jubilee in Ukambani in 2017.
Political undertones
With the election of Dr Ruto, some leaders from the region have since joined the Kenya Kwanza side and have been coalescing around Mr Muthama with various meetings in the region over the weekend.
The leaders like former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, and former Kitui Senator David Musila, who vied for the governor seat on Jubilee Party but lost to Wiper’s Julius Malombe have been asking the region to embrace President Ruto’s administration.
In a bid to wrestle the region from the grip of Mr Musyoka, whom some Ukambani leaders accuse of advancing selfish political interests, the leaders are planning to move across Ukambani to rally the region behind President Ruto.
Yesterday, Mr Muthama admitted that the meetings have been tailored towards ensuring that the ruling party is accepted in the region. The region has been dominated by Wiper for a long time. Mr Muthama added that the appointments made by the President should not be construed as a scheme to clip Mr Musyoka’s political influence in Ukambani.
“What I have been doing is to popularise United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the region and ensure that it serves Kenyans. Secondly, the government will serve everyone including Ukambani and it is upon our people to judge the government based on how they have benefitted from it,” said Mr Muthama.
He added: “Government appoints Kenyans to serve in various positions and when they are picked, it should not be construed that it is aimed at finishing someone politically.”
The several meetings held in the region by Mr Muthama and the team would clip the wings of Mr Musyoka who has already declared his intentions to run for the presidency in 2027.
The overtures are understood to be one of the strategies President Ruto is using to convert the Ukambani voting bloc which, according to the updated Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission register, is home to 1.7 million voters.
The former vice-president recently reiterated his calls on his Ukambani backyard to rally behind him and sought to create the impression that President Ruto is bothered by his candidature.
“I have seen it all and the Kamba nation should remain steadfast. This time around, there is nothing to stop Kalonzo from becoming the president of Kenya. Ruto is the only obstacle and he knows it. He said that he is aware Kalonzo will face him in the 2027 General Election,” Mr Musyoka said last month.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, an ardent defender of Mr Musyoka yesterday dismissed the regular meetings by allies of President Ruto terming them inconsequential.
According to the senator, Mr Musyoka’s position in the Ukambani region cannot be ended by the number of appointments made by President Ruto. He said there have been several unsuccessful attempts to wrestle the region from Mr Musyoka and the recent one by the UDA team will not bear fruit.
“They have never succeeded before; they will neither succeed now nor in the future. Kalonzo’s position in the community is not something which can be taken away by positions given to our people in government. Kalonzo grew from the position and he never campaigned for it,” said Mr Wambua.
The Kitui Senator asked Mr Muthama and the team to use their closeness with President Ruto to lobby for more development for the region instead of antagonising Mr Musyoka.
Fighting Kalonzo
“The purpose of these appointments should not be about fighting Kalonzo but to serve Kenyans. Let them use their positions in government to bring development in the region,” he told Nation.Africa.
Pundits are of the view that Mr Musyoka is likely to remain active in keeping President Ruto’s administration in check, a move which is likely to give him an upper hand come 2027 if the ODM leader does not make the sixth attempt at the presidency. Mr Musyoka would inherit Azimio La Umoja One Kenya honcho Raila Odinga’s strongholds.
While Mr Musyoka has positioned himself to offer leadership in absence of Mr Odinga, political risk analyst Dismas Mokua argues that he might face a herculean task since he has not solidified other regions except his Ukambani base.
“Kalonzo will face challenges because he has no magnetic appeal outside his traditional base and will need to develop the capacity and competence to attract leaders and supporters to his camp. Many people don’t see Kalonzo as a credible presidential candidate because he has not displayed the political killer instinct,” said Mr Mokua.
Mr Musyoka being hard on President Ruto’s administration seemed to have rubbed the Kenya Kwanza luminaries the wrong way which prompted them to disclose that they had approached the former vice president to work with him.
“You have talked about my brother Stephen. He is my elder brother and whenever he is ready to work with me, I’ll embrace him for the sake of national unity. I looked for him after the election and I told him: ‘I have the government now, come work with me.’ He told me that he wanted to try his hand at the opposition. And I said okay,” President Ruto said.
Already Mr Odinga’s lieutenants have hinted that the Nyanza region is likely to rally behind Mr Musyoka.
Recently, Mr Musyoka camped in Nyanza accompanied by various leaders from the region, a clear indication that they are determined to stand by the Wiper leader.
“You have stood with Raila in three elections in 2013, 2017 and 2022. Perhaps you can think what you did was wrong, but I can assure you Hon Kalonzo will not go without a reward to you,” said Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga.
Siaya Governor James Orengo added that: “Steven Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga if it is God’s will, you will rise and lead this country.” BY DAILY NATION