Rift in Kenya Kwanza as Ukambani politicians scramble for Ruto's attention
President William Ruto greets politician Alfred Mutua ahead of his departure for Kampala in Uganda on October 8, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The rivalry in the region has become more pronounced ahead of the President’s tour of Machakos County on April 16, when he will attend an interdenominational thanksgiving service, accompanied by his Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and other Kenya Kwanza leaders.
- Mr Musyoka, the UDA’s national organising secretary, describes Dr Mutua and his group as “John come lately” in Kenya Kwanza and says they cannot be allowed to plan a President’s visit when his own party officials are available.
Two political factions have emerged within the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition, both jostling for power and influence within Ukambani region and trying to prove they have President William Ruto’s attention.
The wrangling is between politicians allied to President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA )and those in the Maendeleo Chap Chap party, which is associated with Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua.
The rivalry in the region has become more pronounced ahead of the President’s tour of Machakos County on April 16, when he will attend an interdenominational thanksgiving service, accompanied by his Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and other Kenya Kwanza leaders.
The factions have been holding parallel meetings to plan how to host the Head of State, with each claiming to have the blessings of State House to mobilise the Kamba community towards supporting the Ruto government.
Dr Mutua has on his side his Cabinet colleague and President Ruto’s National Security adviser, Monica Juma, most of the Kamba MPs allied to the Kenya Kwanza coalition, including the two belonging to his MCC party, and professionals from the region.
The other group, led by Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka, comprises politicians who vied for elective seats on UDA tickets in last year’s elections, including former Machakos Senator and UDA national chairman Johnson Muthama, and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Penina Malonza.
Mr Musyoka, the UDA’s national organising secretary, describes Dr Mutua and his group as “John come lately” in Kenya Kwanza and says they cannot be allowed to plan a President’s visit when his own party officials are available.
Dr Mutua team, however, says he is the senior most leader in the region, being a CS, whose MCC party is a coalition partner in Kenya Kwanza, and having served for two terms as Machakos governor.
According to Mwengi Mutuse, the MP for Kibwezi West and CS Mutua’s close, their meetings have nothing to do with a particular political party.
He says they serve as a rallying point for the Ukambani region.
Mr Mutuse, who is one of the two MPs elected under MCC,says it is time the region’s leaders rose above party lines and closed ranks to chart a unified way forward for the community.
"We have been meeting to discuss issues affecting our region, in view of the new political reality, and how we can rally the community to reciprocate the President’s gesture of giving Kambas a stake in his government’’ said Mr Mutuse.
The MP acknowledges the friction among Ukambani leaders but insists that the President needs more numbers behind his government, something which he says can only be achieved if all leaders work together.
However, the UDA grouping would hear none of it with MP Musyoka dismissing the Mutua group as “pretenders to the throne” who joined the Ruto train towards the end of the journey.
‘’President Ruto’s party is UDA, in which I’m the national organising secretary. How can I abdicate my role in the party and surrender my position in favour of Maendeleo Chap Chap, which never believed in a William Ruto presidency in the first place?”
The third term MP, who chairs the Parliamentary Energy committee, says getting re-elected on a UDA ticket in Ukambani was the toughest political challenge and that the Mutua group should respect them for what they achieved in marketing the Ruto candidacy before they joined in.
‘’Dr Mutua’s party is welcome to give my team suggestions on the President’s visit but let them understand UDA is the main political party in the ruling coalition, with presence across the country, and therefore it’s the main driver of Ruto’s agenda’’ said Mr Musyoka.
The infighting between the two groups is so intense that at some point the UDA side attempted to disrupt the first meeting convened by CS Mutua on March 23, by denying him the permission to host his team at the Kenyatta International Convention Center in Nairobi.
There was a standoff on that day when CS Malonza, under whose docket the KICC falls, issued instructions banning political meetings at that venue. It took the intervention of the State House to reverse the order and allow CS Mutua access.
Ms Malonza, who ran for the Kitui woman representative seat on a UDA ticket, had ordered that such meetings be held at the Bomas of Kenya to prevent the disruption of international conferences, a move interpreted as derailing Dr Mutua.
In an interview with the Nation, the Tourism CS confirmed issuing the order but denied it had anything to do with local politics. She insisted she was only keen on reserving the building for high level global events.
Based on the attendance of the parallel political meetings and the deliberations, it is emerging that the Sunday event may turn out to be a show of might between the two groups, as each has prepared its own wish list of projects for implementation.
Dr Mutua’s meeting was attended by MPs Mutuse, Caleb Mule (Machakos Town), Joshua Mwalyo (Masinga), Nimrod Mbai (Kitui East), Fabian Mule (Kangundo) and Rachael Nyamai (Kitui south), while the guests at Mr Musyoka’s meeting were UDA politicians, principal secretaries and recently appointed chief administrative secretaries from the region.
Political pundits say the simmering rivalry among leaders in Ukambani may be the usual definition of the region’s politics but that they also point to wider jostling by partners in the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
Mr Muthama’s differences with Dr Mutua date back to 2013, when the latter was elected Machakos governor on a Wiper party ticket. Mr Muthama was vehemently opposed to his rival’s appointment to the Cabinet by President Ruto.
Dr Mutua, a two-term governor who served as government spokesman for eight years under the late President Mwai Kibaki, is considered more senior among Kamba leaders in Kenya Kwanza.
