Governor Mutua makes a u-turn, pledges allegiance to Jubilee

Governor Mutua makes a u-turn, pledges allegiance to Jubilee

Machakos Governor Dr. Alfred Mutua has made a U-turn in his political course and promised to support Jubilee in the 2017 General Elections.

Mutua, who had earlier stated that he would neither support Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) nor Jubilee in the next elections, seemed to make an about-turn in his speech during a meeting between Ukambani leaders and President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday.

Mutua said that the Ukambani region is ready to support Jubilee to help them win the next elections for the sake of development.

“We are not here for government positions or money, or envelops, or briefcases. We are here on behalf of the people of Ukambani. We do not want to be leaders of the poor,” said Mutua.

“We want unity that will help us forge forward. We will hold your hand during the elections because we are people of a stand and we will not be swayed.”

The announcement is set to cause discomfort within Mutua’s Wiper Democratic Movement where he has lost support in recent months over his close working relations with Jubilee.

The issue was escalated by the Governor’s launch of Maendeleo Chap Chap Movement with some leaders within Wiper pushing for his expulsion from the party.

In his defence, Mutua stated that he offered no rivalry to Wiper nor supremacy battle with the party leader Kalonzo Musyoka saying Maendeleo Chap Chap is strictly a movement aimed at championing for development not just in Machakos but across the country.

Governor Mutua won the Machakos Gubernatorial seat in March 2013 on the Wiper Democratic Movement, an affiliate of CORD, beating Wavinya Ndeti of Chama Cha Uzalendo.

Wiper has not officially commented on the visit by over 5,000 Ukambani leaders to State House on Tuesday, which has sparked speculations of a shift in support by the widely-perceived CORD stronghold.

In his previous comments, however, Kalonzo Musyoka rubbished Mutua’s push for  supremacy in the region terming his move as inconsequential.

Out of the 900,405 votes cast in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni Counties in 2013, CORD leader Raila Odinga garnered 768,025 votes while Uhuru Kenyatta got a paltry 90,064 votes.

It is for this region that President Kenyatta has been making in-roads in the Ukambani region to increase his popularity in the region with Tuesday’s meeting leading to a recap of a series of development projects initiated in the area and promises of more goodies.

“When Mwingi North MP John Munuvi took office in 2013, there were only 3 schools connected to electricity, presently almost all schools are connected to electricity, despite the fact that the Constituency did not vote for me.”

“This is our kind of politics – that which is rooted in development debates and not ethnic divisions and enmity,” said President Uhuru.

President Kenyatta has also held meeting with leaders from Western, West Pokot, Kajiado and Meru in a bid to discuss development projects and also seek support for his re-election bid.

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Uhuru kenyatta machakos Alfred Mutua

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