Why Machakos Governor Alfie Mutua prefers to weep louder than the bereaved

I hope it’s not too late to say: Happy New Year! I know it’s not a very happy year for outgoing Machakos Governor Alfie Mutua—every time I wrote something he didn’t like, he used to phone and say: naona umekuwa mtu wa ODM.

I don’t know whether ODM is still a party, and if Raila Odinga remains its patron. If he is, then Alfie has also become mtu wa ODM, seeing that he recently declared his support for Raila, who many call Baba.

But I digress, since I am neither an ODM supporter nor its opponent. And my political affiliations have zero value as I don’t even have a vote. But there are folks who play politics in their waking hours, perhaps even when they dream, as Alfie demonstrated in the early hours of the year.

He purported that on behalf of his own family and the people of Machakos, he was condoling with Wiperman Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, aka Steevo, whom he claimed had lost his beloved wife.

In the spirit of generosity, we shall not drill down matters about family, but it would be curious when “the people of Machakos” were consulted, for if they were, they would have dispelled the rumour and spare Alfie the blushes.

And why would he opt to convey news of such personal nature on a public platform, when he has direct access to Steevo?

I think Chinua Achebe had Alfie in mind when he wrote of mourners who wept louder than the bereaved. He is, after all, a man who weeps in public a wee bit too much.