Nassir fresh headache as Shahbal hints he may vie as independent

After a grueling race to secure the ODM ticket for the Mombasa governor’s seat, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir faces another daunting task - to consolidate the party’s sharply divided support base.

An online drive to collect 1,000 signatures to petition Suleiman Shahbal to run as an independent candidate has gained momentum. By yesterday 863 voters had signed it. Yesterday, Shahbal who met his campaign coordinators at Tononoka Social Hall said he will tour all the six constituencies to listen to his supporters before he makes the final decision.

“From Mvita, I will go to Likoni, Changamwe, Jomvu, Nyali and Kisauni to listen to the views of the people. But we must also understand that revolutions do not come by force,” he said.

This is after the campaign coordinators and his running mate accused him of making a unilateral decision to step down for Nassir without consulting them. 

“I saw the announcement on television like other Kenyans. It was heart wrenching,” said Mrs Lewa Maitha who resigned as the Deputy County Commissioner to be Shahbal’s running mate.

Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets to denounce his decision to quit the race. 

“We the people of Mombasa County want change. Your decision to step down for another candidate is not welcomed,” stated Hamisi Baya, the initiator of the petition on change.org.

Meanwhile, a faction within Shahbal’s supporters have demanded that Nassir should appoint Lewa his running mate to reciprocate Shahbal’s graceful decision of stepping down for him. In a recent interview, Nassir said he was still consulting on who will be his running mate but sources indicate he was considering a youthful county employee Barbara Aaron for the post. If past political arrangements are anything to go by, Nassir’s running mate is expected to come from the Christian community, which account for about 59 per cent of the county’s population.

A former administrator, Lewa is a Christian who also comes from the most populous Mijikenda tribe estimated to account for about 33 per cent of the county’s population. Governor Hassan Ali Joho’s deputy William Kingi, is a Christian from the Mijikenda tribe. In 2013, Joho settled on Hazel Katana who also had similar background. In 2017, Shahbal chose former Kisauni MP Ananiah Mwabodza, Mijikenda, as his running mate although he is a Muslim. Shahbal had banked on Mwabodza’s support base in Kisauni.

But in 2013, he chose Emmanuel Nzai, a Christian from Mijikenda tribe. Kisauni Constituency has the highest number of votes in Mombasa compared to the other five constituencies. According to the 2017 Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission register, Kisauni has 126,151 votes, Mvita 107,091, Nyali 104,017, Changamwe 86,331, Likoni 87,326 and Jomvu 69,307.

Meanwhile, Nassir is also facing rivalry within Azimio la Umoja- One Kenya Alliance given Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo is also gunning for the governor seat on the Wiper Party ticket. Mbogo, a Mijikenda, is said to be banking on Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to get votes from the Kamba community, which is the second largest tribe in Mombasa.

The Kamba people live in different parts of the county, but mostly in Changamwe and Nyali constituencies. In 2013, Shahbal who ran on Kalonzo’s Wiper garnered 94,905 votes with most of his votes coming from Kamba dominated areas.

“I have traversed all constituencies and I know that I stand a good chance. I will soon announce my running mate who will be a woman from the upcountry and a Christian,” said Mbogo.

Nassir is also at pains to ward off the “project tag” owing to the support from Joho. On Sunday, UDA candidate Hassan Omar said Nassir represents the status quo. 

“Nassir represents status quo and cannot bring political and economic discourse compared to Shahbal,” said Omar, adding “Nassir was just a replica of outgoing governor Joho.”

Nassir has, however, described himself as the people’s project. He insists that he will continue to implement Joho’s agenda but also initiate his own economic agenda for the people of Mombasa.

On the upcountry vote, Nassir has promised to appoint persons from other tribes living in Mombasa like the Luhya, Kikuyu, Kisii and Luos in his administration. Initially, the Luo community had demanded the running mate position.

Shahbal’s decision to quit Mombasa governor attracted praise and criticism amid reports that the deal was brokered by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The businessman decision was announced by ODM leader Raila Odinga during a meeting with Shabhal and Nassir in Nairobi after hours of talks.