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U-Turn Bolsters Speaker Kiusya as Wavinya’s Camp Suffers Setback

By Martin Masai | The Anchor

A fresh twist in the Machakos County Assembly power struggle has dealt another blow to Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s efforts to unseat Speaker Ann Kiusya.

Three MCAs- Annastacia Ndilo(UDA), Ms. Phoebe Koki Mawa and Mr.Lyod Mutua(MCC) have dramatically withdrawn their support for the Speaker’s impeachment.

They were amongst 33 MCAs who initially signed a petition seeking the Speaker’s removal on April 8,2025. It also transpires that some MCAs signed the petition upon being paid money, believing it would be a walk in the park.

The three are under pressure from their respective parties to abandon support for Wavinya and be guided by their parties.

It means that the impeachment motion is facing another level of onslaught and may not even pass the basic threshold for tabling it on the floor of the house.

On June 19, Ndilo wrote to the Speaker, formally withdrawing her signature—an unexpected move that has tipped the scales firmly in Kiusya’s favour. The other two MCAs wrote similar letters around the same time, meaning pressure to do so was exerted simultaneously after Kiusya’s trip to State House.

That same day, the UDA Machakos Chapter fired back. In a petition to the party’s Secretary General, they demanded Ndilo’s expulsion from the party and the revocation of her nomination, citing political disloyalty, incitement, absenteeism from party functions, and undermining party leadership.

The petition accuses Ndilo of aligning herself with opposition politics and launching personal attacks against national party figures. Her decision to sign the impeachment motion — and later withdraw — is presented by the party as both divisive and contradictory, exposing deepening cracks within UDA’s local ranks.

But insiders point out that the real fault line lies not within UDA or MCC alone, but in the broader political standoff pitting Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s camp against Speaker Kiusya.

Ndilo’s withdrawal is being interpreted as a shift away from Wavinya’s influence, signalling disarray in the Governor’s brigade and making it increasingly difficult to mobilize the numbers required to impeach the Speaker.

“The retreat is a political earthquake for the pro-Wavinya faction,” said a senior assembly insider. “It confirms that Speaker Kiusya is not only weathering the storm — she’s tightening her grip on the House.”

The Speaker, once under siege from both Wiper Party loyalists and disgruntled UDA members, now appears to have turned the tide. With the retraction and a number of MCAs from Wiper Party  opposing the impeachment push, it is becoming clear that Kiusya’s support base — cutting across Wiper, UDA, Maendeleo Chap Chap and independent members — is becoming more resolute.

The unsuccessful impeachment attempt has also laid bare the limits of Governor Wavinya’s false influence within the County Assembly, her money bags notwithstanding.

Her push to oust Speaker Kiusya, viewed as a bid to escape oversite and accountability and to consolidate control of the legislature ahead of 2027, is now in total jeopardy. Attempts by Kalonzo to exert his influence and validate her impropriety is making it worse for the pair.

While the UDA’s internal divisions may be evident, the true political fallout is unraveling within the Governor’s support base.

Ndilo’s fate — now in the hands of the party’s disciplinary and legal arms — could become a test case for how far the party is willing to go in asserting discipline. But her defection from the impeachment camp is already a symbolic victory for Speaker Kiusya and a significant setback for her critics.

As the County Assembly reconfigures, with the battle lines being redrawn, the speaker, once embattled, is emerging with renewed political capital.

Where she takes this political stock in 2027,if at all, remains uncertain.

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