Before Kalonzo joined Azimio, Kibwana had declared interest to run for the Makueni Senatorial seat on the Muungano Party ticket. He was the favourite but when Kalonzo joined Azimio, the political wind blew in the opposite direction with Wipers Dan Maanzo who is a close Kalonzo ally coming out as the Wiper party favorite
A declaration made by Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka that he will run for the presidency in 2027 has opened fresh political battles in his Ukambani political backyard. Leading the onslaught against Mr Kalonzo Musyoka is former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana who for one month has been throwing punches at Mr Musyoka terming him a political failure who will be defeated by President William Ruto in the 2027 presidential elections.
Kalonzo and Kibwana have for a long time been having a frosty political relationship but in public, they have been pretending that all is well. Kalonzo had on many occasions supported Kibwana’s opponents during political contests but surprisingly despite Kalonzo being the Ukambani political kingpin, Mr Kibwana has always withered the storm winning political seats convincingly.
In the 2013 and 2017 elections, Mr Kibwana won the Makueni gubernatorial elections to the chagrin of Kalonzo who supported his opponents. In the last general elections, Kibwana was the first to join Azimio Coalition before Kalonzo threw in the towel and joined Azimio.
Before Kalonzo joined Azimio, Kibwana had declared interest to run for the Makueni Senatorial seat on the Muungano Party ticket. He was the favourite but when Kalonzo joined Azimio, the political wind blew in the opposite direction with Wipers Dan Maanzo who is a close Kalonzo ally coming out as the Wiper party favourite.
Kalonzo personally held a campaign meeting in Makueni against Kibwana, something that Kibwana has not forgiven him for. Mr Maanzo went on to win the senatorial race after he garnered 177,273 votes against Kibwana’s 59,034 votes. Having failed to secure the seat, Kibwana defected to Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Coalition hoping to get a ministerial appointment but that did not come to pass. He later retired from politics.
However, the moment Kalonzo declared interest in the 2027 presidential election; Mr Kibwana seems to have woken up from his retirement ostensibly to clip Kalonzo’s political wings, especially in Ukambani where Kalonzo remains the undisputed leader.
Kibwana has since renewed his rivalry with the former Vice President who he accuses of holding the Kamba community at ransom. Last week, lawyer Makau Mutua called on Kibwana to stop his attacks on Kalonzo.
