Kalonzo, Ngilu to face off after Wiper clears Malombe

Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has issued a direct ticket to former governor Julius Malombe at Wiper House in Nairobi. This comes after weeks of protracted consensus building, that involved senior clergymen from Ukambani.

Kitui’s gubernatorial race had proved to be a thorny issue for Kalonzo after his son Kevin Muasya threw his hat in the ring as the running mate to former Kenyan ambassador to Uganda Kiema Kilonzo.

“While handing over the ticket to Malombe at Wiper Command Centre, Kalonzo said the party relied on several factors to settle on the former governor including a scientific survey, religious leaders' caucus and National Executive Council resolutions among others.

The move to issue direct tickets is seen as a strategy to ringfence his backyard while ensuring that Wiper garners majority seats in the region. He stated that the party put a lot of effort in engaging the aspirants along the lines of consensus, taking into consideration the possibility of infiltration by rivals to support weaker candidates during the primaries.

“These things are not easy. But we have succeeded in consensus as the way forward,” Kalonzo said, adding that in the case of Kitui, he had met with Kiema and advised him to support the popular candidate.

Another political headache for Kalonzo was in Machakos where former CAS Wavinya Ndeti was tussling with Mavoko MP Patrick Makau for the ticket. After days of negotiations, Makau agreed to step down and focus on defending his seat. In Makueni, Mutula Kilonzo Jnr will be flying the Wiper ticket for the governor race after his competitor Philip Kaloki was prevailed upon to exit the stage. Kaloki is thought to be eyeing a deputy governor post in Nairobi County.

Others that have benefitted from direct tickets include Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua and Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu to defend their seats. The current Makueni MP Daniel Maanzo who is eyeing Makueni senatorial seat has also been given a direct ticket to run for the seat against the outgoing governor Kivutha Kibwana who is contesting on Muungano party. A host of sitting MPs including the three Women Reps; Irene Kasalu (Kitui), Rose Museo (Makueni) and Machakos' Joyce Kamene have also been given tickets under the Kalonzo’s strategy to try and secure majority seats against the incursions from Maendeleo Chap Chap of governor Alfred Mutua, Charity Ngilu’s Narc and Kibwana’s Muungano party.

In a recent interview, Kalonzo said his party was out to sweep all the elective seats in Ukambani to up his stakes for national negotiations at Azimio – One Kenya Alliance.