Forgive us – Kivutha pleads with Uhuru to intervene in his disagreement with Kalonzo
Makueni governor Professor Kivutha Kibwana has pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to urge Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka not to subject him to disciplinary action.
Kivutha made the plea to Uhuru following previous disagreements between the governor and Wiper party.
Speaking on Friday July 9, 2021 at Thwake Multi-purpose dam, Kibwana requested President Kenyatta to ask Kalonzo to exempt him from facing disciplinary action from the party.
"Kalonzo said that time for minor political disagreements is over. Some of his people also said I should face the party's disciplinary committee, but I think this is uncalled for. Please tell him,” Kivutha said
In September 2020, Wiper threatened to punish governor Kibwana and his Deputy Edelina Mwau over failure to remit monthly party subscription fees amounting to over Ksh600,000 and Ksh1 million respectively.
During a by-election in March 2021, rivalry between Kalonzo and governor Kivutha played out after Kivutha threw his weight behind Muungano party candidate Joseph Kioko who was running against Wiper's Sebastian Muli who won the seat.
Kibwana asked the President to forgive the Kamba community for their hard stance in supporting the CORD and NASA coalitions which were led by Kalonzo and Raila Odinga during the two previous general elections.
Kivutha made a point of reference when President Uhuru was heckled during a campaign rally in Wote, Makueni County ahead of the August 2017 general elections.
After the incident, President Uhuru threatened chiefs who were working with National Super Alliance (NASA) of legal action.
“In the course of politics, some minor disagreements will always arise. We, therefore, ask you to forgive us if we wronged you in any way,” Kivutha appealed.
In his speech, Kalonzo reiterated that the region was united and promised President Uhuru of full support in his development agenda.
“We have seen the urge for unity and that’s what we guarantee the President as a community,” Kalonzo said.
The Wiper party leader further assured Uhuru that the three governors from Ukambani together with himself are united adding that those peddling talk of disunity in the regional leadership are propagating lies.
“Your excellency, you can see that Governor Mutua and Ngilu are here in Makueni to support Kivutha. Even Ngilu has now requested that phase two of the construction of Thwake dam should kick off. Therefore, those using their energy to propagate lies should simply spread the gospel of unity,” Kalonzo said.
Kalonzo went ahead to wish governor Kibwana, who is unwell, a quick recovery while thanking him for the warm welcome he showed the president during his tour of Ukambani.
