Wiper party picks Johnstone Muthama’s successor after fallout

Jackson Musyoka Kala will vie for Machakos Senate seat on Wiper ticket.

Barely three days after Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama said he would not seek re-election, accusing Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka of promoting ‘undemocratic principles’, the party has handed a direct ticket to another candidate. 

A former chief officer in the government of Machakos County, Jackson Musyoka Kala, who was initially in the race for the Machakos Town parliamentary seat, has been confirmed the Wiper party nominee for the Senate race in the August 8 elections.

Official confirmed

Wiper party national elections board Chairperson Agatha Solitei, in a telephone interview with The Standard, confirmed that the party’s elections organ had resolved to award Kala a direct nomination following Muthama’s annoncenent that he would not defend his seat through the party’s ticket nor campaign for Wiper anywhere.

“As the national elections body for the party, we are obliged to make sure the party has candidates for all elective positions and since (Senator) Muthama hinted he won’t contest, at least on a Wiper party ticket, we had no option but to get a candidate for the position,” Ms Solitei said.

And asked whether the party had exhausted all avenues of reconciliation with the senator, Solitei noted that the party’s election board did not have the luxury of time to engage in such engagements.

“I will leave that for the party leadership to deal with. Ours is to ensure the party does not lose out to other political parties which already have their candidates confirmed and are in a campaign mood,” she said.

Solitei said Kala was handed the certificate yesterday after it emerged that the party was on the verge of being locked out by the deadline initially issued by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

“By the time we did it, we knew that the deadline for submitting the list of party nominees was Thursday, so the position right now is that the certificate has been given to Mr Kala,” she said.

However, Wiper Secretary-General Omar Hassan said he was neither aware of the development nor was he involved in the decision to give the certificate to another candidate.

“I am not aware of the decision at all. I will ask you to consult the party’s chairperson of the National Elections Board for further details,” said Mr Omar.

Kala convened a press briefing in Machakos town and vowed to clinch the seat in the coming election.

“I thank the party leadership for granting me such an opportunity and I promise I will not let the party down. We will campaign in all corners of the county to ensure we deliver the seat to the party in the August elections,” he said.

He rubbished Muthama’s criticism of Wiper party and its leader, Kalonzo, describing his (Muthama’s) public outburst as ‘lack of discipline’.

“Muthama cannot be allowed to hold the party to ransom at such a critical moment. Our focus now is to strategise about Kalonzo’s 2022 bid for the presidency and anything disrupting that process must not be entertained,” he said.

Efforts to reach Senator Muthama for comment were unsuccessful as his mobile phone was switched off.

Observers believe this development is likely to trigger a political debate on Ukambani politics, considering Muthama influence in the lower eastern region.

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