Drama, divorce and power: How Johnstone Muthama, Agnes Kavindu shaped Machakos politics

Few Kenyan political families have lived their story as publicly as Johnstone Muthama and Agnes Kavindu Muthama. 

Their journey, marked by marriage, divorce, rivalry and unexpected convergence, has unfolded alongside some of the most consequential political battles in Machakos County and the wider Ukambani region.

What makes the Muthama story unique is not just that both spouses became influential politicians, but that their personal history repeatedly shaped their political fortunes, alliances and public perception.

Johnstone, also known as Johnson Nduya Muthama, entered national politics in 2007 after winning the Kangundo parliamentary seat. 

His appointment as Government Chief Whip in the 10th Parliament quickly positioned him as a central figure in parliamentary strategy and coalition management.

In 2013, he transitioned to the Senate after being elected Machakos Senator on a Wiper Democratic Movement–Kenya ticket. 

There, he served as Minority Whip and became one of the principal architects of opposition politics, co-chairing the CORD coalition and later NASA.

However, Muthama’s influence extended beyond titles. In Ukambani, he became known as a political kingmaker, capable of shaping nominations, mobilising resources and disrupting party plans. 

His fallout with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka after 2016, largely over party direction and nominations, marked a decisive break that reshaped Machakos politics.

After losing his Senate seat in 2017, Muthama embarked on a series of political realignments, briefly engaging with Jubilee-aligned politics before joining the United Democratic Alliance, where he served as party chairman. 

That relationship later collapsed amid internal disputes, but by early 2026, he had publicly indicated plans to launch a new political party.

Muthama’s career has been punctuated by controversy. Between 2015 and 2017, he was arrested several times over hate speech and incitement allegations following opposition rallies.

 The cases, which attracted national attention, were ultimately dismissed or collapsed in court, with judges citing procedural and evidentiary flaws.

While the legal outcomes cleared him, they cemented his public image as a confrontational political actor.

Unlike her former husband, Agnes Kavindu Muthama entered elective politics later in life. Her first attempt came in 2017, when she ran for Machakos Woman Representative on a Jubilee Party ticket and lost. 

The campaign, however, introduced her to voters as a deeply religious figure whose messaging centred on resilience, faith and personal struggle.

Her breakthrough came in March 2021, when she won the Machakos Senate by-election, securing 104,352 votes. By then, she had defected from Jubilee to Wiper, a move backed by Uhuru Kenyatta and Kalonzo Musyoka as part of the broader Azimio coalition strategy.

She went on to successfully defend the seat in the 2022 General Election under the Wiper banner.

Johnstone and Agnes Muthama married in 1978 and divorced in 1983, with court records citing cruelty and granting child custody to Agnes. A brief remarriage in 1996 also collapsed, but the separation did not end their political entanglement.

Despite decades of personal distance, their political lives continued to intersect in Machakos. 

Wiper’s decision to back Agnes in 2021 was widely interpreted as both a strategic move and a symbolic challenge to Johnstone’s long-standing influence in the county. 

The couple had Moses Nduya Muthama, who died in February 2026. 

The peak of the Muthama family conflict came between 2017 and 2021, when Johnstone publicly distanced himself from Agnes Kavindu’s political ambitions and backed a rival candidate against her in the Senate by-election. 

Several family members, including Moses, openly opposed her candidacy, turning the race into a national spectacle. They argued that Kavindu was vying to embarrass their father. Despite the pressure, Kavindu won.

The Muthama family saga illustrates how Kenyan politics often absorbs personal conflict and converts it into political capital. 

Together, their story offers a rare, unfiltered look at how power, ambition and family intersect in Kenya’s political landscape.