Defiant: Muthama, Mutula
resist Kalonzo calmly, firmly
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| Mr Kilonzo: Firm and calm |
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| Mr Muthama: Calm and firm |
UKAMBANI politics have taken a new turn with the emergence of Mutula Kilonzo and Johnson Muthama challenging the old order.Today, the politics of the region are rolling in a fashion that the perceived king-pin- Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka cannot contemplate, yet he remains conjoined at the hip with the two and he can do nothing about it.
It is the emerging reality of changing politics that may have great ramifications on how power will be wielded in the region in the days to come.
Equally telling is the fact that both Mutula and Muthama have been nominated to run as senators for Makueni and Machakos respectively, even after the VP had publicly expressed his wish that Mutula leaves the seat for outgoing Kaiti MP Gideon Ndambuki and goes to contest in Nairobi County. In the case of Muthama, the VP dramatically paraded Masinga lawyer Boniface Kabaka to challenge him for the Wiper ticket.
Ndambuki has since conceded defeat and is working within Wiper in the hope of being appointed a Cabinet Secretary as a loyal party functionary.
But the two men chose to face the VP in the party and voters in the two counties opted to stand in solidarity with them and gave them a resounding approval.
Mutula responded to the VP’s call that he moves to Nairobi by saying he was shocked that Mr Musyoka had the temerity to make such a suggestion publicly even without first consulting him.
To many, the two are merely awaiting a confirmation vote on March 4 to be the first senators for the two counties. Even then, they will have to contend with working in an environment where they are uncomfortable with the king-pin.
So why is there a quiet tussle between the emerging giants and the VP?. Analysts see it as initial effects of the shift of the balance of power in Ukambani. In the runner up to the building of coalitions, it emerged that the VP was trailing badly in national politics and could not be leader of any winning side.
The then G7 group that no one is talking about was drifting away from him and his only relevance lay in swallowing a humble pie and become an appendage of a leading political side so as to have a relevance in the emerging dispensation.
Yet, it emerged; the VP lacked the spine to make that decision. To make that decision required some awesome courage and leadership. That is ideally what Mutula and Muthama brought upon the VP.
Those privy to the events of the day say Kalonzo was literally wailing when Mutula, Muthama and Musila got hold of him nilly-willy and hauled him into a marriage with Raila Odinga. Matters were complicated further when the Kamba Council of elders endorsed the move and the VP had no where to go to.
Mutula told The Anchor in a conversation at the time that he would sign the coalition agreement with ODM in his capacity as Wiper Secretary General whether the VP was ready or not.
The action that Muthama had taken the day Raila visited Kangundo and Muthama called on Kalonzo to work with the PM now seemed irreversible.
Events unfolded so fast that the VP found himself surrounded by hostile factors. At the Uhuru- Ruto side, his nemesis in Ukambani Mrs Charity Ngilu was holding fort and was a no-go zone for the Wiper leader.
It was in these circumstances that Muthama, Musila and Mutula found themselves at the negotiating table with ODM to save the career of the VP. Thus they are viewed by the ODM side as the powers behind the throne in respect to Kalonzo. It is expected that the two may have a greater role to play in the ODM-Wiper marriage than any other person, a factor that, sources say, is making the VP find it difficult to accept their new status. The rest is history
