MWAMISI: Like Gachagua in Mt Kenya, Muthama must champion Ukambani interests

The fluidity of Kenyan politics in recent years best explains the unlikely triumphing of William Ruto, who edged out Raila Odinga to ascend to the presidency.

While ‘deep state’ turned out to be a mirage or at least did not play ball towards enabling or engineering a Raila presidency, the disorganisation of Azimio is not something that can be left without mention. However, the truth is that power was there for taking for the man who got properly organised.

In various regions, many who had not been kingpins per se or had struggled to rally their troops took strategic positions in Ruto’s more organised juggernaut. In a commentary in the the Star titled “Uhuru raised Raila from his political deathbed”, I demostrated Raila’s soft underbelly of poor organisation and myopic quests for power. That again unraveled in the August 2022 elections.

Former Machakos Senator and UDA chairman Johnson Muthama was among those who, from the outset, believed and supported the isolated Ruto for President. Raila and Uhuru took a major gamble, a gaffe actually, when they opted to prop Karua as Azimio running mate hoping the obstinate Mt Kenya people would gravitate towards Raila.

This move came a pathetic cropper almost justifying Kalonzo Musyoka’s infamous claim that without him as Raila’s running mate, they’d lose. Although there was still no guarantee that with Kalonzo in Karua’s place Raila would win, all know that power is taken and not given.

Four times running as a strong candidate, Raila had been unable to become president. It does not matter who you blame when the electoral agency announces someone else as winner: The bottom-line will be that you have not managed to get to power. That is the reality world over.

Ukambani naturally became an Azimio zone with Kalonzo Musyoka’s reluctant acceptance to cast his lots with Azimio. Nevertheless, the ultimate results had Ruto reaping 85,091 in Kitui, 56,198 in Makueni, and 92,804 votes in Machakos. The average percentage was 23.33 per cent, which indeed was a significant score for Ruto and his troops in the Azimio stronghold.

A recent viral video in Ukambani WhatsApp groups has an emotional man ‘warning’ Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza, who hails from Kitui, that “she needs to ‘build a mattress on which she can fall back on just in case, and not a stone which would kill her”.

The hard-hitting speech and political threat to the CS is apparently about her ‘detachment’ from the people who pushed for her appointment through Muthama, who delivered it. Besides the Tourism CS, Ukambani also has former Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke —who unsuccessfully vied for Kitui governor — appointed Sports and Arts Principal Secretary, among other appointments.

The national government controls the use of 85 per cent of revenue collected nationally, and while the minimum 15 per cent allocated to counties by the Constitution is sorely needed, Ukambani will heavily depend on President Ruto’s government for important projects such as water and roads to have critical transformation.

River Athi needs to be cleaned up and pollution from industries and in Nairobi and Mavoko stopped so that its water and Thwake Dam can be safe to use. The county governments of Machakos and Makueni cannot afford this. Other water initiatives such as dams in Machakos need actualisation or completion, besides housing projects. Many roads in Ukambani are in terrible state, the need is great.

Muthama, Ukambani’s main defender within the ruling UDA, knows Ukambani like the palm of his hand being a seasoned politician. There is no better time to champion the region’s improvement than now.

President Ruto has proven to be a man of his word, repaying his political promises with placements in vantage points, the reason many believe Mt Kenya political class stuck their guns with him. This is a crucial quality of a leader that is real determinant in private political dealings. I would say, it is probably one of main qualities that have ensured Ruto’s meteoric rise to the apex.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is considered by some as bit abrasive in his quest to occupy the Mt Kenya kingpin political domain. He is engaged in a tiff with Nairobi Governor Sakaja as he cautioned against changes that would doom business for his people in the CBD.

It does not really matter one’s position in government, as long they do not use their proximity to the President’s ear to have the people’s rights respected and development delivered. One who defends their people to the tooth becomes their champion.

All over Kenya, the needs are real and the people want tangible change, which is what Ruto promised to the commoners at the grassroots. It is left to be seen how aggressively Muthama is going to work to use the space he has effectively because the people of Ukambani will look up to him. Kalonzo continues to be out of government for over 15 years now, while Alfred Mutua is confined to the Foreign Affairs docket.

In 2017, Muthama opted out of the senatorial contest in Machakos being at loggerheads with Kalonzo within the Wiper Party, which they founded together. While Kalonzo wished to control the gubernatorial contests in all of Ukambani, Muthama held the position that Machakos’ fate should have been left to him and other county leaders to determine. That, among other historical tiff, caused Muthama to detach totally from Kalonzo and chart his own political direction so that today he is chairman of the ruling party, UDA.

A working relationship between Kalonzo and Ruto should be the last thing that Muthama would wish to happen as it would bring back a drag he has a sweet break from currently. To gain freedom from Kalonzo’s political control, Muthama had to painfully start again from scratch. Ruto has control of both houses of Parliament, and finding handshakes unnecessary, he is pushing for the installation of the official opposition office.

However, for Ruto to recoup the 23.33 per cent he garnered in Ukambani in the last election, his government must deliver in development. He may wish to have a smooth working relationship with the county governments, which is of course obligatory, but for political clout, he must channel his efforts primarily through his UDA framework. This is because, ultimately, the Ukambani governors may not give him credit or support him in 2027, when Kalonzo will most likely be running for president. If anything, they will seek to exorcise and dim his star in Ukambani.

UDA troops in Ukambani can have a conclave that identifies, tracks, and ensures the implementation of crucial projects in Ukambani and secures credit for the party. It must ensure that its manifesto gets implemented in Ukambani and all other regions so that needs are addressed and the people are happy.

Caleb Kaka Mwamisi is a political commentator