Written By Henry Kimoli
The Wiper Party is in dilemma on who to field in Machakos after it’s heavy weights declare interest for the Governor seat
The two, Wavinya Ndeti and her first cousin-Mavoko MP Patrick Makau are fighting for the dream ticket.
Matters for Wiper party and the two warring cousins have been complicated by the entry of former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita into the race…on a CCU ticket.
Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka has assured the siblings that nomination for the ticket will be free and fair.
But this has not cooled the political nerves of the close relatives as D Day approaches.
Worse for the duo, Machakos County Assembly speaker Florence Mwangangi is also interested in the seat. And in a Wiper ticket.
The mother of Health CAS Dr.Mercy Mwangangi has plunged into the Governor politics and too hopes to win.
Should Wavinya grab the Wiper ticket, it will mean all the competitive County positions in Wiper will be banked by women.
Kavindu Muthama will contest in Senate, then there is the Women Representative.
Makau is said to be under pressure to vie for the MPS seat in Mavoko, but he has vowed never to abandon the Governor seat.
Then there is the possibility of handshakes in Machakos.
Wiper wants to retain Wavinya and Makau. So they will be happy to pair them as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively.
This will prejudice the position of Mwangangi in Wiper.
Top Machakos professionals have been pressurising her to join Waita as a running mate under the Azimio party banner.
But Waita is under pressure from his handlers to settle for Charles Kilonzo of
Yatta, Engineer Maliti of Chap Chap or City businessman Joe Kithyaka.
Those in Waita’s camp say Mwangangi is a respected technocrat who has the support of Ukambani and Machakos lawyers.
She became a darling of the Learned friends when she served in JSC as their representative.
She is said to have the support of her wealthy husband and billionaire hotelier who owns 15 hotels accross Machakos.
Mwangangi has been approached by Maliti, but she is reluctant.
Whichever side Mwangangi joins, she will be a force to reckon with. She may as well decide the election.
Wavinya is seeking out a running mate from Yatta or Masinga Ward. If she gets a strong candidate, like Maliti, then the election will be too close to call.
The odd man out in this election will be Makau.
Wavinya, the older cousin of Makau has been at Wiper headquarters countless times to buttress her case to party leader.
Her argument is that she abandoned her party CCU to join Kalonzo and therefore must be the candidate. Waita has since taken over CCU.
Wavinya claims Makau has no clout and will be floored by Waita in the morning.
As such, she has demanded the ticket with menaces and will settle for nothing less.
Machakos is set for a major battle to replace philandering Governor Mutua.
