A fierce primary battle for the Wiper governor’s ticket in Kitui is taking shape.

Former party national chairman David Musila announced on Saturday he has mended fences with party leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

“As it stands, only an unlooked-for devil can put Kalonzo and I asunder. I will never again part ways with Kalonzo,” Musila said.

He said his differences with Kalonzo have been thrashed out “once and for all”.

He spoke at the Mwingi town resources centre while presiding over a fundraiser for the Mwingi Knut branch bus. Financiers want to repossess it after the union branch defaulted on payment.

The two men’s differences stemmed from his protest that the 2017 primary for the Kitui governor seat had been rigged.

After the falling out, Musila resigned from Wiper as both member and chairman. He ran unsuccessfully for the governor’s seat as an independent.

He later returned to the fold, setting the stage for a gruelling primary among him, former Governor Julius Malombe and Kenya’s former high commissioner to Uganda, Kiema Kilonzo.

The Former Wiper chairman has said that he will now stay with Kalonzo “to the hilt”.

He also said he had buried the hatchet with MP Gideon Mulyungi. He said unity of the Mwingi region was important for posterity.

“We parted ways acrimoniously with Kalonzo and I became an independent candidate as Malombe was given the Wiper ticket in 2017.

“We have since had a round table and agreed since we both belong to Mwingi, we should not tolerate disagreements,” Musila said.

The Wiper Party appears to be harvesting candidates as business woman Priscilla Makumi, popularly known as Kavilisi, has announced she will seek the Wiper ticket for the Kitui woman representative’s seat in 2022.

Makumi will face incumbent Irene Kasalu.

In a brief statement to the media on Monday, Makumi said she has played behind-the-scene politics long enough and she is ready to lead.

By Fred Azelwa.