The sudden change of political stand by Kitui governor Charity Ngilu to support David Musila in Kitui governor race has taken to relationship between Kalonzo Musyoka and Raila Odinga to a new low.
Charity Ngilu
According to sources within Wiper, ever since Ngilu made her decision public, Raila has flatly refused to pick Kalonzo’s phone calls aware that Kalonzo would demand that Raila prevails over Ngilu to back the Wiper candidate Julius Malombe. Ngilu had earlier during a function in Kitui attended by Raila and Kalonzo declared that she is not going to defend her governor seat and she would instead support Malombe. In exchange of stepping down, Ngilu had been designated a minister in a Raila government should that ever come to be. Although it was obvious from the political mood on the ground that Ngilu was going to lose the seat to Malombe whom she had toppled in 2017, those who know her say that she was not happy that it was Malombe who was going to benefit from her step-down.
David Musila
It was thus waited with great interest to see what Ngilu had up her sleeve. Whereas it was said that Ngilu would, to express her disgust, merely keep off the Azimio Malombe campaigns in Kitui, not many had expected her to openly declare war against Malombe. Those in the know however say that the war is not against
Malombe perse but it is directed at Kalonzo and the conductor of this concert is
none other than Raila. Those of this view say that there is no way Ngilu would wake up and decide to declare her support for Musila without talking to Raila about it first. After all, was it not Raila who pleaded with her to drop her governor ambitions and support the Wiper candidate in the name of zoning?
Julius Malombe
Indeed, there are those who say that Kalonzo had also demanded from Raila and Uhuru Kenyatta that he should be the one to name the Kamba ministers in an Azimio government something that made Raila fear that Ngilu would not be named by Kalonzo hence Raila’s decision to promise Ngilu a cabinet post from his own share of the government. This is said to have not gone down well with Kalonzo whom nothing would make him happier than see Ngilu finished politically. There have even been rumours that Kalonzo fears that contrary to the promise that he will be made a chief minister in a Raila government, he might end up getting a lesser influential office than Ngilu. It is worth noting that Kalonzo got the promise following pressure on Raila from Uhuru whom Kalonzo was using to bargain for power share.
That Raila has been using Ngilu to fight Kalonzo in Ukambani being proved by the fact that when Raila and Kalonzo were invited to State House to iron out their differences and have Kalonzo back Raila presidency, Raila arrived at the meeting with Ngilu much to the chagrin of Kalonzo. It is to be remembered that Uhuru himself in 2012 also used Ngilu to balance Kalonzo Kalonzo as explained by Kalonzo in his book Against All Odds where he says that Uhuru and William Ruto paid him a visit at his Karen home and informed him that if he did not take the number three post in Uhuruto government, then the two were going to bring in Ngilu to their coalition and forget about Kalonzo.
And indeed, Uhuru and Ruto brought Ngilu into their Jubilee fold as Kalonzo ran to Raila to form Cord coalition comprising of ODM and Wiper among other parties such as Ford-K of Moses Wetangula. Uhuru and Ruto won the elections and appointed Ngilu a minister. Ngilu who had lost the race for Kitui senate on Narc party to Musila was made minister of Lands as Kalonzo started his long and difficult political life out of government for the first time since 1985. Come 2017, Ngilu who had been sacked by Uhuru on orders from Mama Ngina after Ngilu mistakenly started selling Kenyatta family land that Uhuru knew not his family owned, was now on the Raila, Kalonzo side in the Nasa coalition that also had ANC’s Musalia Mudavadi who had run for the presidency in 2013 but come a remote third. Ngilu bagged the Kitui governor seat but she never had peace as Kalonzo’s Wiper MCAs who controlled the county assembly were ever on her neck following what she said were directives from Kalonzo to sabotage her.
Indeed, Ngilu believes strongly that her dwindling political popularity in Kitui has everything to do with Kalonzo’s interference of her leadership using his MCAs to detract her. It is against this background that Ngilu is now throwing her weight behind Musila so as to take her revenge on Kalonzo. When Ngilu informed Raila of her plans to declare publicly her support for Musila, Raila gave her his blessings and told her to support Musila kwa hali na mali (in spirit and in resources). It is for this reason that Ngilu has now given out county vehicles to be part of Musila’s campaign logistics. Ngilu dropped the bombshell in Kalonzo’s Mwingi area where Musila comes from. She told the people of Mwingi that they have an opportunity to have a governor come from their area but if they do not want it “then there you go”. As the county vehicles criss cross Kitui popularising Musila’s bid, Malombe is stuck at home with no money to mount a campaign.
Although he had expected to be the beneficiary of the Azimio funds in Kitui, the funds are being controlled by Ngilu meaning that Malombe is at the mercy of an enemy. On his part, Raila’s secretly declared goal is to see Kalonzo be totally finished in Ukambani and thus he believes can be done by ensuring that Kalonzo has as few MPs, senators, governors and woman reps as possible. Tellingly, Raila’s ODM is fielding candidates in Ukambani although he had made Kalonzo believe that he would adhere to the Azimio sowing plan and level Ukambani for Wiper. Another reason Raila is unhappy with Kalonzo is that he believes that Kalonzo left the door open in Ukambani far too long and that is why William Ruto has managed to chip a good chunk of voters for themselves. When Raila hears his phone ring and he sees it as Kalonzo calling, a source near to someone close to Raila claims, Raila retorts “sasa huyu anataka nini” and pushes the phone away.
