By Anchor Writers
Machakos Town on Tuesday witnessed what may go down as one of the most bizarre political confrontations in recent memory .
Now the political battle will not only be fought with manifestos, policy papers or development records, but with bras, panties, boob tops, curses and counter-curses.
As Kenya grapples with the grim realities of gender-based violence and the shocking killings of women, a group of women protesters supporting Governor Wavinya Ndeti took to the streets of Machakos to vent their anger. But this was no ordinary demonstration.
Armed with an assortment of undergarments held high for public viewing, the women transformed the town centre into an unlikely political catwalk, sending a message they hoped would be impossible to ignore.
Their target was Mavoko MP Patrick Makau King’ola.
The women accused the legislator of crossing the line during a recent Linda Mwananchi rally led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, where Makau launched a blistering attack on Governor Wavinya Ndeti.
According to the protesters, the MP’s remarks went beyond politics and ventured into personal territory, with some interpreted as body-shaming and degrading the county’s first female governor.
One protest leader declared that women across Kenya were taking notes and that politicians who disrespect women would eventually discover that ballot boxes, unlike microphones, answer back.
Another demanded that Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka discipline leaders who insult women- never mind their insults and wierd challenges to Makau- while others linked the country’s growing cases of violence against women to a culture of disrespect allegedly encouraged by public leaders.
Yet it was not the speeches that captured public attention.
It was the underwear.
Bras waved in the air. Panties fluttered in the wind. Boob tops were displayed with revolutionary enthusiasm as ‘curses’ flew indiscriminately at Mavoko’s Man Mutemba
To political observers unfamiliar with Kamba traditions, the spectacle may have appeared merely theatrical. To others, however, it carried deeper symbolism.
The display evoked memories of the dreaded “Ngumbe” curse, a traditional form of social condemnation in which women strip naked,deploy public shame to express extreme displeasure.
In this modern adaptation, nobody disrobed and nobody broke the law. Yet the symbolism was unmistakable.
The message appeared to be: “You have crossed the line.”
If the organisers intended to dominate the day’s headlines, they succeeded.
But politics, particularly Machakos politics, rarely allows one side to enjoy the final word.Here, the slogan ‘nitapitia katikati yao’ ( I will pass between them) is an active lifestyle after it made Kalonzo Musyoka a Vice President.
No sooner had the first procession departed than a rival brigade emerged, now waving twigs.
As if responding to an emergency call from the political gods, a second group of women appeared on the streets chanting “Wavinya Must Go to Nigeria”. Her real name is Wavinya Oduwale.
Their mission was equally dramatic.
The first group, they claimed, had effectively cast a curse upon the county. The remedy, they argued, was immediate political cleansing.
And thus Machakos found itself in the extraordinary position of witnessing competing demonstrations by women — one accusing a politician of disrespecting women and another demanding protection from the curse allegedly imposed by the first group.
By lunchtime, residents were struggling to keep up.
Was it a protest?
Was it an underwear salute?
Was it a counter-protest?
Was it a political rally?
Was it a traditional cleansing ceremony?
Or was it simply another chapter in the never-ending rivalry between Governor Wavinya Ndeti and MP Patrick Makau King’ola, oblivious of advances by the main Wavinya rival Nzioka Waita?
Whatever the answer, one thing became abundantly clear.The political contest between the governor and her critics has entered a new phase.
Roads, hospitals and water projects appear increasingly unable to compete with the headline-grabbing power of underwear diplomacy.
As Machakos residents returned home, many were left wondering how a debate that began with allegations of disrespect toward women had somehow evolved into a public contest involving bras, panties, curses, counter-curses and demands for spiritual cleansing.
Only in Machakos, they joked, can politics move from the county assembly to the underwear drawer within a single news cycle.
And if Tuesday’s events are any indication, the 2027 campaign season may require not just political analysts, but also cultural anthropologists, traditional elders and perhaps a few marriage counsellors.
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