Governor hopefuls assure Christians of protection

Mombasa County Wiper candidate for governor Suleiman Shahbal (left) and his deputy Emmanuel Kombe Nzai during the peace forum at Tononoka in Mombasa. [Photo: Omondi Onyango/Standard]

By Fatma Mzee

Mombasa, KENYA: Contenders for Mombasa governor seat have pledged to uphold religious tolerance if elected.

At the same time, a candidate was questioned by a panel of Christian leaders about his alleged links to the Middle East where he lived and worked for many years.

The religious leaders sought assurance from the candidate that he would not ‘mortgage’ Mombasa County to investors from the Middle East if he becomes governor.

The leaders had called the forum to audit the governor aspirants’ suitability for the seat under the Preaching Peace and Unity Mombasa Church Forum against a background of grenade and arson attacks on churches in Mombasa.

24-hour economy

In response, Wiper Democratic Movement candidate Suleiman Shahbal said his vision was to make Mombasa a 24-hour economy to benefit local investors.

“People with money to invest will go to areas that are conducive for the growth of their businesses. Under my reign as the governor, I will make Mombasa the best place for the Mombasa Community to invest in and not for the interests of the Middle East,” Shahbal said.

He assured the Christian community of security and said no one had the right to interfere with another person’s freedom of worship.

“Everyone is entitled to the freedom of worship and no religious community should be discriminated in allocation of land for religious practices,” he said.

Mombasa town was last year rocked by violence targeted at Christian churches following the killing of radical Islamic cleric Sheikh Aboud Rogo.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) aspirant Hassan Joho, who spearheaded peace campaigns during the Rogo riots, also promised to ensure Christians and places of worship are protected if elected governor.

Series of attacks

“It is in the mandate of the governor that security should prevail in the county especially in the churches where a series of attacks have been experienced in the recent past,” Joho said.

“Mombasa is one of the few counties with historical sites, which is a clear indication that our ancestors coexisted. Who am I then to deny someone the freedom of worship or discriminate someone on the basis of religion, colour or tribe,” he asked.

Independent candidate Tendai Lewa, TNA flagbearer for the seat Abdalla Mwaruwa also promised to ensure coexistence of communities in the region, which they termed as cosmopolitan.