Nzioka Waita, Wavinya Ndeti clash on Twitter as Machakos Governor race heats up

The war of words started on the back of the announcement that Maendeleo Chap Chap's candidate in the race Francis Maliti, who is the current Deputy Governor, had pulled out and resolved to back Ndeti’s bid.

The two rivals were caught in a bitter exchange with Waita laughing off Maliti's move to join Ndeti saying it was a ticket to failure.

“I want to congratulate Wavinya & Maliti for coming together…birds of a feather. As they celebrate, Machakos Level 5 Hospital is in turmoil, no electricity, bodies rotting in the morgue, life support machines off and countless patients at risk. That is the legacy of Mutua and Maliti,” Nzioka wrote on Twitter.

Ndeti, who is running on a Wiper ticket, was not cowed by Waita’s remarks and fired back at the former President Uhuru Kenyatta Chief of Staff saying she had countered him politically.

She wrote: “I outsmarted you. As you were courting the running mate, I snatched her boss. Hii ni ligi soo. Ukichengwa tulia.”

The former Transport and Infrastructure Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) went on to blast Waita over his sentiments accusing his running mate Florence Mwangangi of looting public funds in the county.

“Your running mate Florence Mwangangi who is the Speaker of the County Assembly is part of the rot in Machakos, she failed to oversight performance of the County Executive. Further, there are countless audit queries at the County Assembly where she is the head. Rotten to the core!!” Wavinya noted.

This came after Waita had labelled the partnership between Wavinya and Maliti as ‘Corruption meets incompetence!’.

The quest to succeed outgoing Governor Alfred Mutua has taken shape with now four contestants remaining on the battlefield.

On top of Waita and Ndeti, United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Chairman Johnson Muthama and Rose Mulwa of the Empowerment and Liberation Party (ELP) are the others in the race.