Season of plenty in Kenya's coastal region as politicians open wallets for campaigns

Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho and coast businessman Suleiman Shahbal during Eid ul Fitr celebrations. Cash running into billions of shillings will be doled out and spent on elaborate political campaigns as titans of Coast politics, especially in Mombasa County, fight for control of the region’s political and economic heartbeat. (PHOTO: COURTESY) 

In the mind of many Coast residents, the season of plenty is fast approaching with the 2017 General Election just 13 months away.

Cash running into billions of shillings will be doled out and spent on elaborate political campaigns as titans of Coast politics, especially in Mombasa County, fight for control of the region’s political and economic heartbeat.

During the electoral petition against Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho’s victory in the 2013 elections, the main challenger Suleiman Shahbal told the court that he spent Sh200 million campaigning for the seat. Some reports indicate he could have spent a lot more than he declared.

A wealthy politician in his own right, Shahbal is expected to spend a lot more in next year’s polls to fund his own campaigns and sponsor Jubilee campaigns in the region.

Politicians and analysts say with more funds devolved to the counties, political competition could get stiffer.

Huge costs

A section of candidates for the gubernatorial seat are expected to resort to regular use of helicopters to meet their supporters.

Joho and Shahbal have vast business interests in and out of Kenya. They could  be facing off with Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar and, most likely, Nyali MP Awiti Bolo who are also wealthy or are capable of mobilising wealthy businessmen to fund their campaigns.

Independent analyst Yahya Hussein says “elections in Mombasa and Coast in general can be considered a veiled contest between rival business interests and next year will not be an exception”.

He says next year, each of the key candidates could spend a minimum of Sh1 billion “but Joho appears to have the upper hand as shown by his handling of the Malindi by-election”.

Director of Communication at the Mombasa County Government Richard Chacha admitted that gubernatorial campaigns come with huge costs but denied Mr Joho could have spent Sh700 million, saying the figure is unrealistic.

“The campaigns are really expensive but that figure is on the higher side. Governor Joho has already endeared himself when he served as Kisauni MP and that helped cut down the campaign costs when he vied for the governorship. We cannot quantify the exact amount of funds used in the last campaigns,” Chacha explained.

Mr Chacha said Joho spent more resources after winning the 2013 election on setting up structures of the county government because the national government had not yet allocated funds, adding that more cash went into the numerous election petitions that Joho faced.

Mombasa County, which is considered the bedrock of Coast politics, witnessed the biggest and flashiest campaigns that gobbled up millions of shillings raised by Governor Joho and Mr Shahbal who ran big secretariats and reportedly funded several candidates for other seats.

Governor Joho, believed to enjoy the support of prominent businessmen in the town, is said to have funded all the ODM parliamentary, county assembly and women representative aspirants. All the 30 wards in the county went to ODM.

Prominent businessmen

His close aides say he will play a key role in not just funding ODM activities in Mombasa and other parts of Coast, including Lamu which the opposition lost in 2013, but also nationally.

Colossal amounts of money went into printing T-shirts and posters, paying campaigners and poll agents, running the secretariats, buying caps, advertising on television, radio, mobisalisation through public rallies, newspapers and billboards and hiring roadshow trucks.

Kaloleni MP and chairman of the Coast Parliamentary Group (CPG) Mr Gunga Mwinga said his campaign cost him about Sh60 million, explaining that he started his campaigns two years in advance.

According to the MP, a lot of money went to funding development projects, campaign materials, organising meetings and advertising.

“I expect to spend more money in the next elections because the field is becoming more competitive. Elections cost politicians a fortune; they are very expensive,” Mwinga explained.

Mwinga said a governor requires at least Sh100 million to make a mark in elections, noting that the next election will be more expensive because devolution has heightened the competition.

Politician and religious leader Sheikh Juma Ngao said he avoided contesting the elections since 2002 when he tried his hand in the Mvita parliamentary election race on a Ford People ticket because his family resources were depleted.

“The 2002 elections served as a lesson for me. Our presidential candidate Simeon Nyachae gave me Sh150,000 and I could not get anybody else to fund my campaign yet I had to hire vehicles, organise rallies and pay agents Sh2,000 each on polls day. I came out broke and I had to turn to my father to clear huge debts,” he said.

Ngao said business people in Mombasa sponsor candidates only when they know they would benefit from tenders or enjoy protection from them. “Businessmen have their individual interests in elections and they sponsor their candidates expecting to get value out of them,” Ngao said.

Pwani University lecturer Halim Shauri said incumbent governors and politicians in key positions have a higher chance of retaining their positions because of the cost involved in elections.

“In the next elections, we should not be surprised to see governors campaigning in helicopters because they have handled a lot of money under devolution. Governors have money that will determine election results,” he noted.

He added: “Challengers will have minimal chances unless they work really hard or get financial backing from business people.”

He argued that the low literacy and poverty levels, particularly in some Coast counties, make it possible to woo voters with money and hence lock out noble candidates who lack financial resources.

According to Prof Shauri, small political parties should join forces through memoranda of understanding or coalitions to support their candidates and survive the next elections that promise to be more competitive and costly.

Mombasa lawyer and politician  Yusuf Abubakar said it will be difficult for incumbent governors to lose the next elections because they have the financial muscle.

“If an incumbent governor loses the next elections, it will be due to a big scandal or outright failure to deliver services. Money is a critical factor in elections and governors have it,” said Mr Yusuf, a former Shirikisho Party of Kenya Secretary General.

According to him, political parties and ethnicity would not be major factors for financially well-endowed candidates.

He noted that candidates begin campaigns when they support projects and finance programmes such as bursary and therefore end up spending millions of shillings.