Wiper enlists Wavinya Ndeti in bid to unseat Mutua as governor

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s rivalry with Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua went a notch higher on Wednesday when he enlisted Dr Mutua’s closest challenger in the 2013 General Election into his party.

Former Kathiani MP Wavinya Ndeti, the Chama cha Uzalendo (CCU) party leader, on Wednesday announced that she will be vying for the Machakos governorship race on a Wiper ticket. She, however, said her party will field candidates in other posts.

Her running mate will be Peter Mathuki, the Wiper deputy secretary-general who is a member of the East Africa Legislative Assembly.

“Wavinya Ndeti has been given permission by her party to join Wiper as a member,” Mr Musyoka told a cheering crowd at party headquarters in Lavington, Nairobi.

In the 2013 polls, she garnered 92,219 votes against Dr Mutua’s 257,367. She said the Kamba have 2.5 million votes. “It is good for us to join hands. I’d like to assure Kenyans that you will never see Ukambani region split again,” Ms Ndeti said.

HUMBLE YOURSELF

Mr Mathuki, said: “Sometimes when you humble yourself, it does not mean it’s a sign of weakness.”

CCU’s secretary-general Phillipe Sadja said the move was not a merger and aspirants would have a right to run for whichever seats they wanted.

Wiper has a similar deal with Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana of Muungano Party who committed to help Mr Musyoka get the Nasa ticket.

“As you know, the Machakos governorship was won by Wiper in 2013 but the governor who won has since defected and formed his own party; so it behoves us as Wiper to claim that territory,” said Mr Musyoka.

The latest deal by Wiper, said the party’s secretary-general Hassan Omar, is a sure way to clip the wings of governor Mutua’s Maendeleo Chap Chap.