A battle of titans is expected to reign across Mwingi West Constituency as contestants’ scramble take control over the vote-rich constituency as the official campaign period nears.
A handful of aspirants have expressed interest to run and give incumbent MP Charles Ngusya Nguna alias CNN a run out of the town in the August 9 polls.
The latest entrant being the Governor Charity Ngilu’s point man in the area Patrick Koki Musau popularly known as Kuvasila.
Speaking on Saturday during a burial in Migwani ward, Kuvasila, a trusted County Minister in the the Ngilu administration vowed to trounce the incumbent CNN for what he termed as failure to deliver development to the constituents.
Kuvasila joins an already congested race which has attracted among others former MP Bernard Kitungi, Kyome/ Thaana MCA Alex Wambua, former contestants Kyuu Kangé and Mr. Mwangangi Munyoki commonly known as Bookshop.
Others mentioned to be in the contest are County Chief Officer for Agriculture James Songolo and Eng. Francis Mulekya.
Kuvasila contested for the seat in 2013 and 2017 losing to Mr. Kitungi and CNN respectively. Both times, he emerged as a first runners-up.
A politician known for humour, political wit and as daring; the powerful County Executive Committee Member will however have an uphill task of fighting the ‘Ngilu tag’ which might derail his quest. Locals have accused the Ngilu administration of underperformance and being a top official in her government might work against him.
“Nienda kutangasia vaano adharani kana mwanoo etumitwe ni CNN mutavye mwakoo, asya mwakoo kwithiwa! Kuvasila niwukite… Aume mundu waimaa kavele na aatiala vandu, amukulya nomumuminukilisye?” Kuvasila humourously charged in Kikamba amid cheers from the mourners.
But his entry further complicates the political arithmetic owing to his charming and persuasive politics. Kuvasila comes from the same region as Mr. Wambua, a Ward Rep whom they had at one time gone at loggerheads over what the latter termed as poor governance by the Ngilu-led county executive.
Wambua, a vocal MCA both on the floor of the County Assembly and in his ward has vowed to square it for MP with his former ally CNN. He is on record as the only MCA in Kitui who went against the grain and voted against the BBI Constitutional Amendment Bill. In a past interview with this publication, Wambua who fell out with Wiper party and joined DP Ruto-led UDA exuded confidence that he had all what it takes to floor the current MP.
Development record
“I am better placed to lead the constituency. I will use my connections at the national level to bring more development to our people. I will not rely on the CDF funds alone as the current MP has been doing. I will unlike the incumbent empower contractors across the entire constituency,” said Wambua.
The incumbent youthful lawmaker who hopes to ride on track record and perceived Wiper party popularity in the area has allegedly been accused by a section of locals of nepotism in the awarding of jobs and tenders.
The MP has been on charm offensive to defend his seat. He has been distributing campaign materials such as jacket reflectors emblemed with the slogan “CNN5+” ostensibly calling for his re-election for another 5-year term.
Mr. Kitungi, who over the years appeared to be the only serious challenger of the incumbent hibernated from active campaigns late last year after he was appointed a board member at the Communication and Technology Authority. He promised to make a huge comeback after February 9th when he is set to resign.
According to the data by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Mwingi West had 51,849 registered voters in 2017. The impending jostle for the huge chunk of votes is likely to take a new twist of regional voting. This might be motivated by the fact that as of now every ward has a candidate. The constituency has four wards which include Kiomo/Kyethani, Kyome Thaana, Nguutani and Migwani wards.
In 2017, CNN emerged winner with 14,818 votes, while Kuvasila followed closely with 10,987 votes. Kitungi who was defending his seat then could only manage 8,594 votes.
STORY By MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT, EDITED By MUSYOKA NGUI
MWINGI TIMES for timely and authoritative news.
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