Nyali MP Awiti ditches Wiper, unveils new party and running mate

Nyali MP Hezron Awiti

Nyali MP Hezron Awiti yesterday unveiled his new political party and running mate for the Mombasa gubernatorial race. Mr Awiti, who recently quit the Kalonzo Musyoka-led Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM) will have Hassan Mwamtoa, a banker, as his running mate in the August polls. The two will be running on a Democratic Party ticket where Awiti, a former national treasurer of WDM, is party leader.

Mwamtoa, a Digo from Likoni Sub-county in Mombasa, was endorsed by Mijikenda community elders. Awiti announced that the Mijikenda community from which his running mate is drawn, will share the county government on a 50-50 basis with other communities if he wins the seat. "The Mijikenda will share the county government with other communities in the county on a 50-50 basis," Awitisaid. Other gubernatorial candidates seeking to unseat Governor Hassan Joho are Suleiman Shahbal of Jubilee and Hassan Omar of WDM. The Mijikenda community is seen to be the best political bait for gubernatorial candidates in Mombasa because it forms the biggest voting bloc.