The race for succession matrix in Makueni is said to be in making as politicians are already setting the ground running.
Among those suspected of to succeed the governor Kivutha Kibwana is the area senator Mutula Kilonzo junior and business magnate Hurun Mwau.
Governor Kibwana is serving his second and final term in office and is yet to hint on his possible successor.
Kibwana’s Deputy Adelina Mwau has already declared interest to take over the county’s leadership.
The former Kilome Member of Parliament has a lot of political experience and has for decades been a political voice for Ukambani people.
Mwau could use his political influence and networks to bid for the Mkaueni governor seat.
Born in 1948, Mwau trained as a sharpshooter and participated in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics Games.
In 1992, he unsuccessfully contested the presidential election losing to retried president Daniel Arap Moi.
The billionaire businessman also worked as the Director of the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KAA).
In 2013, Mwau unsuccessfully contested the Makueni senatorial seat.
He lost the seat to the late Mutula Kilonzo.
The businessman again lost the seat to Mutula Kilonzo Junior in the 2013 by-election.
Mutula Kilonzo Junior is the son of the former senator for Makueni county Hon Mutula Kilonzo.
He is currently the senator for Makueni county and a member of wiper democratic movement Kenya.
He won the senatorial seat after a by-election after the death of his father. In 2017 he won the general election to retain his position as the senator of Makueni County.
Mutula Kilonzo Junior is an advocate of the High court of Kenya, a certified public secretary and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya branch).
In 1995, Mutula Kilonzo Jnr was an apprentice making his bones at Kilonzo & Company Advocates, his late father’s law firm that he started in 1979.
In 2007, his experience in criminal and commercial law landed him the position of managing partner. In 2013 he was elected as the senator for Makueni county after the death of his father.