Kalonzo’s party official opposes zoning policy, calls for equal opportunity
By Emmanuel Rono, April 17, 2026The National Executive Council (NEC) member of the Wiper Patriotic Front (WPF), Kamau Mbiu, has come out strongly against zoning, insisting that leadership positions should remain open to all candidates regardless of regional or ethnic considerations.
Speaking on the issue during a radio talk show on Friday, April 17, 2026, Mbiu argued that zoning undermines democratic principles by limiting the pool of potential leaders and denying voters the freedom to choose candidates based on merit.
According to Kamau, he has been a victim of zoning, citing that he was zoned out of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). He said it is a challenge for emerging leaders.
“As an upcoming leader and as an emerging leader, I’m also a victim of zoning because, actually, I was a member of ODM in the last election and I was zoned off,” Kamau said.
Zoned off
He said that he was allegedly forced to vie on a Jubilee ticket because his region was classified as a Jubilee stronghold.
“I vied with an ODM ticket in the last election and got zoned off because I was told that it is a Jubilee stronghold and therefore was told to join Jubilee so that I could go for primaries, where I got played, but as a victim of zoning, it is a democratic right of any citizen to join any party and vie under that party anywhere in this country without being zoned off,” Kamau said.
He argued that by designating certain parties as belonging to specific regions, the system prevents the emergence of truly national parties.
“We need to stop labelling these parties as tribal parties… we need to belong to the states as one,” Kamau noted.
ODM zoning dilemma
In the tight political standoff, ODM’s insistence is that zoning, an arrangement where coalition partners agree not to field candidates against each other in designated regions, be entrenched as a core pillar of any alliance.
While such a framework could solidify a strategic partnership between the two political heavyweights, it risks triggering backlash within UDA’s ranks, where aspirants and grassroots supporters are pushing for open competition across the country.
ODM has remained firm that regions such as Nyanza, Western and the Coast constitute its traditional strongholds and must be protected from what it terms ‘political encroachment’. Party insiders argue that conceding these zones would erode ODM’s identity and weaken its bargaining power in any coalition structure ahead of 2027.
The debate has intensified in recent weeks, with senior ODM figures adopting increasingly uncompromising positions.