Henry Kimoli- JOHNSTONE Nduya Muthama was never a major factor in Ukambani politics. Until Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka invited him to the political high table in August 2002.
The occasion was at the Machakos Park, the present day Mulu Mutisya Gardens.
It was a KANU rebellion party, mooted to sabotage the coronation of Uhuru Kenyatta as the next President of Kenya.
In attendance was then Vice President Professor George Saitoti, his later day successor Musalia Mudavadi, Moody Awori, Adams Karauri, Fred Gumo, Kalonzo himself among other KANU rebels. Muthama had been roped in by the organizers to mobilise grassroots support, in his capacity as the KANU Vice Chair and an acquaintance of the late Mulu Mutisya.
Prior to this meeting, which incidentally was the mother of LDP, Muthama had defected from Charity Ngilu’s Social Democratic Party (SDP), to masquerade as an Ukambani King maker and purport to intercede for Kalonzo during the Kasarani KANU elections (or slaughter), through which Kalonzo was anointed one of the KANU Vice Chairmen during a sham show that was used to install Raila Odinga as the KANU Secretary General.
During the Machakos rally, Muthama used unprintable expletives to describe Uhuru , and predicted that he (Uhuru) will never rule Kenya.(He has been President since March 2013 and is in the frame to become a Prime Minister after the BBI baptism).
After the rally, Muthama hosted the renegade leaders to lunch at his Mua Hills Home, where his now estranged and divorced wife Kavindu played the host.
But you can trust Muthama to mutate. A month after the high profile meeting through which he branded Uhuru a political neophyte, he quickly abandoned Kalonzo and became Uhuru’s point man in Ukambani in 2002, together with the late Mutula Kilonzo. He failed to deliver the Kamba votes to Uhuru despite having pocketed close to a billion from former President Moi and the Kenyatta family.
Even as he campaigned for Uhuru, Muthama conveniently opted not to vie for any political seat in Ukambani, despite the huge resources at his display.
It is not clear what Muthama was doing politically between 2002 and 2007 when he resurfaced to lead the Kalonzo stab on the Presidency via ODM Kenya ticket.
This time, he teamed up with Mutula Kilonzo and together they delivered Ukambani to Kalonzo, and in the process was elected the MP for Kangundo Constituency.
Then the real Muthama emerged. He arm-twisted Kalonzo into suspect political deals with PNU, watched as Kalonzo was reduced to a lame duck VP and precipitated the bad blood between Kalonzo and Uhuru, that made Uhuru to brand Kalonzo a political hyena.
Infact, between 2008-2012, Muthama dictated the political moves Kalonzo made, determined who was appointed where, drew up the list of delegates to accompany Kalonzo to overseas trips, exposing the then VP to ridicule and possible manipulation and arm-twisting.
Political analysts suspect that Muthama was all along working for the political stagnation of Kalonzo. Prior to his dalliance with the Wiper supremo, Kalonzo’s ratings by Synovate were higher than those of Raila and Uhuru combined.
But Muthama’s political vitriol exposed Kalonzo to ridicule, and cost him dearly.
Read also Is Muthama a jinxed politician and liability
