Boniface Kabaka vs Johnson Muthama: Who has performed better as Machakos Senator?

Boniface Mutinda Kabaka is the Machakos Senator (as at December 2020). He was elected to the seat during the 2017 general elections. Before him was Johnson Nduya Muthama, who served as the first senator of Machakos under the 2010 constitution. This was following his election during the 2013 general elections. Now I recently overheard some people arguing as to who, between Boniface Kabaka and Johnson Muthama has been more effective in the Machakos Senatorial role. On the one hand of the argument were folks arguing that Muthama was more visible, and was therefore more effective as Machakos senator. On the other side of the argument were those arguing that Boniface Kabaka has been more focused on representing the people (and less on political shenanigans) and is therefore the more effective Machakos senator.

Ultimately, it is up to the individual Machakos voters to decide who, between Johnson Muthama and Boniface Kabaka has been more effective as Machakos senator. And whichever way you look at, there are bound to be people who feel that either Muthama or Kabaka is the better senator. These perceptions are likely to be influenced by where (within Machakos county) they come from, and also on their personal interactions with the two gentlemen. This is also where the 2022 politics could come into play, especially given the fact that Muthama seems to have emerged as Dr William Samoei Ruto’s Ukambani pointman. That could push some people into having positive perceptions of him, while inclining others to have not-so-positive perceptions of him – depending on where they stand within the 2022 and BBI political divide.

Johnson Muthama is one of the doyens of Ukambani politics, having served as Kangundo MP for quite some time, before eventually getting elected as Machakos Senator after the 2010 Kenya constitution was promulgated. There are those who feel that he would have easily recaptured the Machakos Senatorial seat, had he opted to vie in 2017. But then a variety of factors came into play, which ultimately saw him opting not to run – giving folks who would otherwise have had a very hard time capturing the Machakos senator seat a chance to do so. The advantage that Muthama had, as Machakos senator, was in the fact that he had a lot of experience and knowledge on the real issues affecting Machakos residents, the Kamba community and Kenyans at large.

On his side, Boniface Kabaka is said to have been mostly based in the USA, and flew back to Kenya just in time for the 2013 general election in which he unsuccessfully vied for the Machakos senatorial seat. At that time, he was seen as a pro-Mutua (Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Nganga Mutua) candidate. Whereas he didn’t manage to capture the Machakos Senator seat in 2013, he bid his time. And as fate would have it, Muthama didn’t contest during the 2017 election, giving Kabaka a realistic shot at capturing the seat – though he still had to battle it out with other seasoned politicians like Mutua Katuku. The advantage that Boniface Kabaka has, as Machakos Senator, is said to be in the fact that he has lived abroad (in a first world country) for quite some time – and therefore has exposure and a good idea as to how things should be done. That is on top of the fact that he is said to be not as 'abrasive' as Muthama – which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you choose to look at it.