What next for the ruling coalition after key pointman sees the light and returns home?

NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga (left) and Kisii governor James Ongwae welcome back to NASA Kisii county governor Joash Maangi (right) during a rally at Gusii stadium on May 17,2017. Maangi left ODM to join Jubilee party last year but has since re-joined ODM. Photo: Denish Ochieng/ Standard)

The sudden move by Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi to rejoin ODM after a two-year dalliance with Jubilee has tilted the political landscape in Gusii region and forced the ruling party back to the drawing board.

Maangi, who has been flirting with Jubilee for the last two years before officially defecting from the Orange party three months ago, “returned home” and re-united with his boss — Governor James Ongwae.

And like the Biblical prodigal son, ODM leader Raila Odinga and Ongwae happily received Maangi back with a promise that he would retain his position as Ongwae’s number two.

His return to ODM has jolted President Uhuru Kenyatta’s campaign team in Kisii given his political energy and ability to draw crowds.

Key pillar

Maangi was a key pillar for Jubilee’s forays into the wider Gusii region of Kisii and Nyamira counties. He was the chief organiser of the many trips by Gusii leaders to State House that led to defections from the opposition to the ruling party, including those of Kisii Senator Chris Obure and a number of MPs.

Having hosted Deputy President William Ruto in Kisii more than 10 times, Maangi was among the key people carrying Jubilee aspirations in a populous region that overwhelmingly voted for the Opposition in 2013.

But that dalliance was short-lived, with the deputy governor trooping back to ODM last week.

So what exactly informed his abrupt turn-around?

Sources close to Maangi told Sunday Standard he was unhappy with the never-ending power plays, intimidation and intense internal wars within the Jubilee leadership in Kisii. The sources paint a picture of a deeply frustrated man who had no option but to return to his former party.

“I cannot play second fiddle to some people. I have fought my way up in the political scene but some people feel I shouldn’t be given any opportunity to lead. The old guards within Jubilee feel threatened,” said Maangi.

An ambitious and intelligent political player, he doesn’t refute claims that he could have joined Jubilee to test the region’s political waters.

“I never left ODM. I am still a member of the party after the court annulled my expulsion and I was free to go back. The Obure team had pushed me to the corner yet we were supposed to work as a team,” he said.

Thus many of Maangi’s supporters and Jubilee bigwigs were caught off-guard with his latest move. The deputy governor had even held strategy meetings for Jubilee and as late as last week, meeting women groups from across Kisii County.

At the centre of these frustrations stands a wide rift between Maangi and Senator Obure. Both men, key pillars in Jubilee’s campaigns in the region, were interested in the Kisii governor seat.

Maangi said he had filed papers with Jubilee to contest the party primaries for Kisii governor but was prevailed upon by the Deputy President to stand down for Obure.

“Despite the fact that I listened to Ruto’s request, Obure has never approached me to ask for my support. He has been avoiding me and has never consulted me on Jubilee campaigns,” said the deputy governor.

‘Untrustworthy’

Maangi accused Obure of “pushing him to the edge” and locking him out of campaigns and meetings. Obure swiftly hit back at the deputy governor, asking him to stop linking him to his failures.

“I find him inconsistent and untrustworthy. He got issues with me because I picked somebody else as my running mate,” said Obure.

The deputy governor was promptly shoved aside from his coordination role when he announced ambitions to run against Obure and was replaced with Bomachoge Borabu MP Joel Onyancha.

This brought to the fore power games within the Jubilee leadership in Kisii, especially for control campaign funds. Sources say Maangi had been entrusted with these millions by the party mandarins, a position that put him on the cross-hairs of his fellow regional leaders.

Maangi claims he has “never shared a hand shake” with Education Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi, the man leading Government officials and professionals from the region to drum up support for President Kenyatta.

“I was appointed to lead Jubilee Presidential campaigns in Kisii but this idea didn’t go well with some people. They felt that if Jubilee was to form the next government, I would be appointed to a prime position in government,” he said.

Jubilee leaders in Kisii say they are not shaken by the deputy governor’s decision to rejoin ODM. Obure is now campaigning to unseat Ongwae while former Chairman of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) Charles Nyachae is eyeing the senate seat.

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