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By Martin Masai: Commentary

In the shifting sands of Ukambani politics, where alliances are as fluid as the arid region’s rivers in flood season, Wiper Party has drawn a line in the slippery clay.

Only Wiper can see the line.

The party’s disciplinary notice to Kitui Speaker Kevin Kinengo and Machakos Speaker Ann Kiusya is more than a procedural formality—it is a political declaration of war that the party cannot win.

At the heart of the storm are three meetings: two held within the gilded halls of State House, Nairobi, and one under the open skies of Kitui during a UDA rally.

In each, the Wiper Party claims its two Speakers—men and women who rose with its backing—aligned themselves with the political adversary.

Speaker Kinengo is alleged to have pledged cooperation with UDA leadership, while Kiusya is facing similar accusations of undermining party unity.

The charge? Political promiscuity. The evidence? Attendance at meetings with President Ruto and public statements deemed disloyal.

But do these meetings constitute betrayal—or statesmanship?

Legal experts are near-unanimous: Speakers, once elected, are officers of the Assembly—not party apparatchiks. They owe their allegiance to the Constitution, not party headquarters in Nairobi or wherever. “No law compels them to seek party clearance before interacting with the President,” says constitutional analyst Dr. Miriam Kilonzo. “What matters is the context, not the company.”

That context, however, is crucial.

Speaker Kiusya’s appearance at State House came in the wake of a deeply public humiliation. Just days before, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka—during a rally—dismissed her with a now-infamous phrase: “aende akiendanga.” Translated loosely as “let her go, she’s gone”, the statement sent shockwaves through Machakos political corridors.

It came after weeks of  unfriitful peace meetings between one belligerent  group of MCAs aligned to Governor Wavinya Ndeti and seperately with Wavinya and Speaker Kiusya. The fabled diplomat could not arbitrate between the two Machakos girls.

In the circumstances,Kiusya, a trained lawyer and the Assembly’s presiding officer, was belittled, and the sting was personal.

It is this insult, not ideology, that seems to have pushed her toward State House. The question remains: Did Kalonzo’s public rebuke set fire to a bridge he still needed?

Meanwhile, Kitui Speaker Kinengo’s alleged loyalty shift is pinned to his remarks at a UDA rally in Kitui, where he reportedly declared he would work under the county’s UDA-elected leadership. Again, politically provocative—but not constitutionally damning.

Yet the Wiper Party’s disciplinary crackdown rings hollow when weighed against its own contradictions.

Just weeks ago, Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti—Wiper’s highest-ranking office bearer in the county—sat across the table from President Ruto in State House, smiling and declaring her commitment to development and cooperation.

She has not received a show cause letter. No party summons. No threat of expulsion. No reprimand.

Why the double standard?

Political observers see in this an age-old reality: Wiper punishes the powerless and tolerates the influential ones. Wiper chastises the meek but protects those with deep pockets. It opens its eyes to nothing but closes them to danger.

The Speakers, despite their institutional authority, have no political bases of their own—making them soft targets for party discipline.

Wavinya, by contrast, commands not just votes but money networks and possibly influence.Her political survival, for now, demands no explanation.

Both Kinengo and Kiusya, seasoned in law and politics, are playing the long game. Their silence is deliberate. With no two-thirds majority guaranteed to oust them, the real threat is reputational, not institutional.

Wiper’s move is aimed less at removing them and more at freezing others from defecting—sending a chilling message: loyalty is not optional.

Yet the winds are changing. If Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza continues making inroads in Kitui and Machakos, this could be the opening salvo in a larger battle for Ukambani. And in this war, Speakers may soon find themselves not just referees, but players on the frontlines- thanks to Wiper’s miscalculation.

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