Coast benefits as Uhuru, Ruto seek to win over populous Mijikenda in 2017 game plan

By PATRICK BEJA

KENYA: Even though quite a number of prominent Coast politicians lost in the last elections, two had a pleasant surprise.

As the rest began their journey in political oblivion, Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and former Kaloleni MP Kazungu Kambi are among the three politicians in the country who walked into Cabinet after losing in the polls.

The other is Lands Cabinet Secretary Mrs Charity Ngilu, making Coast political losers the ‘lucky lot’.

Experts say the overwhelming support for Cord coupled with lack of a network of professionals to lobby for State jobs could have prompted President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to easily settle for the visible politicians.

Political analyst Maimuna Mwidau says there is need for both politicians and professionals from Coast to stand together to enhance lobbying for posts in Government.

“This may make residents appreciate educated people in the region because this is lacking at the moment,” Ms Mwidau says.

She argues that Chirau Ali Mwakwere could have been a victim of advanced age and perceived arrogance for being left out in Cabinet appointment as most of those chosen are aged below 50 years.

“Although Mr Mwakwere may have done good technical work, his attitude towards people has not made him outstanding. Many Kenyans do not know what he has done,” she explains.

Earlier, scholar Hassan Mwakimako explained that the choice of Mr Balala and Mr Kambi was connected to the 2017 elections when Uhuru and Ruto intend to win over a wider area particularly in Coast where voters shunned Jubilee.

“Uhuru and Ruto made the choices to win over Coast in the 2017 General Election because they could not rely on technocrats alone,” Dr Mwakimako argued.

Chama Cha Uzalendo national chairman Maur Abdalla Bwanamaka says after the appointment of Mr Balala, a Muslim and Kenyan of Arab descent, Uhuru and Ruto weighed between Mr Mwakwere and Mr Kambi who hail from the dominant Mijikenda community in Coast. According to him, Mr Kambi stood out to be best suited to strike a balance because he was both from the Mijikenda who Jubilee wanted to woo and was also a Christian. “The Mijikenda felt left out by the Jubilee and the choice of Mr Kambi has been well received by Coast residents,” Mr Bwanamaka says. As most of the losers settle for life outside Parliament, politicians and residents from across the political divide are now milling around Mr Balala and Mr Kambi, who have gained enhanced status in the region after they were fished out of the cold. Those we talked to say after the political duel three months ago, they now deserve a rest away from the turbulent political scene as they plot for the 2017 comeback.

In the Coast region, the outstanding politicians who missed the voters’ nod, apart from Balala and Kambi, are Mwakwere, Danson Buya Mungatana, Fahim Twaha, Ramadhan Seif Kajembe, Calist Mwatela, Omar Zonga and Ben Gunda.

Mr Mwakwere, who until his loss of the Kwale senatorial bid to fisherman and former MP Boy Juma Boy was a Cabinet minister, says he has retreated to Nairobi where he is reflecting and also doing business.

 “After the polls, I decided to move to Nairobi to run my private business,” Mwakwere who has named himself Dzipapa (big shark) says.

Mwakwere served in Parliament for 10 years and was widely tipped to walk into the Jubilee Cabinet.

Mr Twaha, who lost his bid for Lamu gubernatorial race to newcomer Issa Timamy, returned to school last month to study law saying he wanted to spend his time well out of Parliament as he plans for the next polls.

“I am now a student at the University of Nairobi studying law. I was inspired by my political career because legislating is closely related to the legal profession,” Twaha said. He has also filed a petition against the election of Mr Timamy.

The import and export businessman is also a farmer in Kilifi County.

Mr Twaha served as Lamu West MP between 1997 and 2013 and became a household name in Lamu County before his fall.

Mungatana, the outspoken former Garsen MP who lost the contest for the Tana River governor to newcomer Hussein Dado, said although he had retreated to Nairobi, his diary was full even as he plans for the next polls. He chairs the board of an electronic company, sits as a director of a firm doing supplies, practises law and juggles business with politics back in Tana River County.

Mr Kajembe who is ODM national vice chairman and Mombasa branch chairman says he has taken a low profile in politics to rest after the political contest.

The competitive Mombasa elections were characterised by cash splashing that left many politicians broke.

It is claimed politicians at the Coast spent over Sh1 billion in the polls, cumulatively.