By Toven Apondi
In Kenya’s ever-theatrical political circus where drama is free, facts are optional, and loyalty is a negotiable asset, Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale has once again taken center stage. This time, not with his famous bulls, but with a political misstep that cost him a prime seat in Senate leadership. And just like that, the self-styled bullfighter found himself gored by the very horns of party discipline.
Political intrigues aside. What role did the media play in Khwalwe’s woes? After rallying behind Seth Panyako of DAP-K instead of his UDA party’s David Ndakwa during the Malava constituency by-election, the party bigwigs concluded that the good doctor had read the wrong script. Or, as sages would put it, “The ability to read the room is a skill worth having.” Unfortunately, Khalwale read the room the way a bull reads a china shop: confidently, loudly, and disastrously.
The punishment was swift. He was yanked from a powerful House leadership position and replaced by Bungoma’s Senator David Wakoli, a man now tasked with whipping the majority senators into shape and steering the government agenda, presumably without detours into bullfighting rings or rogue endorsements.
But Khalwale wasn’t alone in this political purgatory. Thanks to media publicity, we know of a parade of MPs already lined up for disciplinary tea and biscuits. ODM’s Antony Kibagendi warmed up to Fred Matiang’i’s UPA candidate. Caleb Hamisi strayed to DAP-K. Homa Bay’s Deputy Governor Oyugi Mawang’a decided loyalty is optional on weekends. Clive Ombane sponsored a few MCA dreams in secret. Mohamed Ali, Majimbo Kalasinga, and even Kakamega’s Deputy Governor Ayub Savula sprinkled their support across party lines like confetti.
The media, with a mix of raised eyebrows and wagging tongues, portrayed the MPs who rebelled in the recent by-elections as political turncoats, painting them as men whose loyalty came with an asterisk. In particular the story in the December 1 edition of the Daily Nation leapt out: it reported that Boni Khalwale of United Democratic Alliance confessed he was backing Seth Panyako of DAP‑Kenya in the Malava by-election not out of principle or party strategy, but simply because Panyako was “my friend and brother.” That candid bit of brotherhood, the press quipped, turned out to be Khalwale’s undoing: The “brother-and-friend” endorsement has now cost him his leadership role in the Senate. Across outlets, the media framed the issue around governance as concerns party discipline: rebel MPs were cast as errant foot soldiers, the by-election drama a cautionary tale in what happens when you back your “brother” and end up eating humble pie instead of cake.
In politics, they say. all publicity in good. In Khalwale’s case publicity on his latest political moves may have come a tad too expensive.
Toven is a media analyst at the Media Council of Kenya
