After nearly a month out of the country on what he described as ‘’personal issues’’, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka returned to find his party in disarray. Country representatives in Makueni had impeached Governor Kivutha Kibwana, himself not a Wiper man but his party, Muungano, is affiliated to Kalonzo’s Cord alliance.
In Machakos, the row between Governor Alfred Mutua and his deputy Bernard Kiala and Senator Johnstone Muthama had escalated.
Prof Kibwana’s impeachment was preceded by violent scenes outside the County Assembly where guns were used, wounding a number of leaders. This unprecedented violence saw his colleague in Kitui, Julius Malombe and Dr Mutua accuse the party leadership of being behind “artificially created” political wars to derail their work.
They threatened to quit the party. “We can’t go on like this. Certain leaders must take responsibility for their political acts of omission,” Dr Mutua told a rally, in an apparent reference to Mr Musyoka.
Not the kind of image a leader who is interested in running for the presidency wants of his party. Thus when Kalonzo finally returned home, his first agenda was to restore order in Wiper.
He accused some Wiper county representatives in Makueni and Machakos of being lured by Jubilee through “goodies”.
“Some of these people have gone to bed with Jubilee and so what we are asking them is, why not resign from these positions you hold and vie on a Jubilee ticket? They are just pouring scorn on us. It is infiltration by Jubilee through MCAs which is immoral,” he said.
A furious Mr Musyoka chaired a Wiper National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which resolved to withdraw support for the Machakos and Makueni Majority Leaders who are Wiper members. He accused them of disobeying party orders not to impeach Kiala and Kibwana.
“How do you then check the government if your troops are flip-flopping? We had to de-whip them. We have called the few errant MCAs and MPs to order and also stated categorically that we did not support the impeachment of Governor Kibwana,” he said.
The dewhipping targeted leaders who have been accused of working with the Jubilee Alliance.
Mr Musyoka followed up the NEC meeting with a public function in his Kitui backyard a few days later where he asked the rebel leaders to toe the line or ship out.
Accompanied by Raila in Mwingi, the Wiper leader said those unhappy with their parties should resign and seek fresh mandate from the people.
He warned that party members opposed to the Okoa Kenya referendum drive will be dealt with in accordance to the law.
“This country has laws that govern the management of political parties, if any member opposes the party position, the party has a right to withdraw his or her membership and occasion a by-election” said Mr Musyoka.
The former Vice President said it was morally wrong for anyone to ascend to leadership and start violating the positions and ideologies of parties that sponsored their election.
In Machakos, the Majority Leader has been an ally of Dr Mutua in his war with Muthama and the deputy governor.
Dr Mutua, who alleges that his ‘’achievements’’ are causing envy within Wiper is being seen as a threat to Kaolnzo in the region.
He was seen as the force behind the other governors who addressed a series of rallies across the region at which they castigated the party leadership for failing to protect them from MCAs. In an apparent and clear threat to break ranks with the party, the governors declared they would chart a new way forward for the Kamba community.
Indeed, the political grapevine in Ukambani has it that Dr Mutua, who has accused Kalonzo of ‘’just policking’’ at the expense of ‘’development’’ may be preparing to exit Wiper and that Prof Kibwana’s Muungano, which already has a presence in the region, may be one of his options.
The quit threats prompted angry reactions from Mr Musyoka’s key loyalists across the region who asked the three governors to make good their threats.
Mutito MP Mutua Muluvi and Speaker of Kitui County Assembly George Ndotto dared the county chiefs to stop dragging the party leader into unnecessary disrepute by making wild unsubstantiated allegations.
“Whoever wants to leave our party for Jubilee should be brave enough do so without blackmailing the party leader or using him as an excuse” said Mr Ndotto, a former minister and a longtime ally of Mr Musyoka.
Wiper MCAs in Kitui refused to meet Dr Malombe who had invited them for lunch to explain his position prompting him to issue a statement backtracking on the quit threats. Dr Malombe assured Wiper leadership and supporters that he is not part of any plans to decamp from the party and that he was committed to the vehicle that sponsored his election.
Kalonzo’s return may dim the fires in his party somewhat. But political observers in the region say he has to grapple with this dissent in his stronghold even as he turns his focus to the 2017 presidential candidate issue.
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