Muthama headed for
face off with Kalonzo
By Martin Masai
Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama seems set to bolt out of the Wiper party and support ODM's Raila Odinga in his 2017 presidential bid and not Kalonzo Musyoka.
This has been coming all along. Two weeks ago when the Wiper party allocated seats in Naivasha, the party left him at the door by assigning him the role to coordinate coalition affairs, a development that left him without any role in the internal affairs of the organization.
During the meeting, Wiper elevated to the summit Muthama's main opponent in Ukambani- Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua. This effectively means that top party affairs can be canvassed without Mr Muthama.
So when he announced during a burial in Nyanza last week that he would back Raila in 2017, it was not quite unexpected. What remains in doubt is his avowed pledge that he would do anything in his ability to ensure that Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka becomes the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya.
If he lives up to his word- which many believe he will, Muthama will be tossing in the air his chances of re-election in Machakos, given the ruckus his new position may cause as he will be seen as a traitor in Ukambani Politics. But his rebellion is no guarantee that he may be rejected. He will after all be joining the statuses of several politicians who broke ranks with Wiper and were elected to Parliament in the last election in open defiance to Mr Musyoka at a time for a general election. It is an undeniable reality of the waning power the former VP is wielding in Ukambani as new leaders emerge.
