Governor Kivutha Kibwana: I disown my deputy for joining DP Ruto’s camp

Adelina Mwau has served as Makueni Deputy Governor for two terms, starting 2013. [Stephen Nzioka, Standard]

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana says he is “shocked” to learn that his deputy, Adelina Mwau, has joined Deputy President William Ruto’s political camp.

Mwau was on Tuesday morning, January 25 received by Ruto at his Karen residence in Nairobi.

“The Hustler nation is growing bigger and bigger. This morning, we welcome Adelina Mwau, the Deputy Governor of Makueni County, to UDA. Karibu Mama,” Ruto said in a tweet.

Adelina Mwau officially joined UDA on January 25, 2022. [Courtesy, Twitter]

The deputy governor, who has served for the maximum two-term limit, is eyeing the Makueni Woman Representative seat in the August 9, 2022 General Election.

“I am shocked to learn that my deputy is joining Ruto’s camp. She and I have worked well for two terms. She’ll now have to walk the political path alone, without our input,” Kibwana told The Standard on Tuesday.

The governor said Mwau had “pretended” all the while that she was with him in Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja camp.

“During Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja rally in Makueni [on November 12, 2021], she was with us, and even played the role of a good host. Today, she’s betrayed that cause. It’s okay, she’s made her decision. But I’d like to say she never consulted the people of Makueni. She won’t carry any more people to Ruto’s side, and moving forward, it will be difficult for the two of us to work together,” said the county chief.

Mwau, a native of Kilungu in Kaiti Constituency, was first elected to office alongside Kibwana in the March 4, 2013 General Election under the Muungano Party.

In the subsequent election – August 8, 2017 General Election – the two defended their seats on a Wiper Party ticket.

Reached for comment, Mwau said she was “heading to the DP’s political camp, but will give a comprehensive statement later in the day”.

Mwau joins Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi, alias Jaguar, in shifting to Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party.

Jaguar, who was elected on a Jubilee Party ticket in the 2017 polls, joined the DP’s political outfit on Monday, January 24.