Will by-elections in Coast region change political landscape?

The People in National October 13, 2013

 

The political configuration of Coast Province was largely unchanged by the petitions filed after the March 4 General Election but with two by-elections slated for December 2, the Jubilee Alliance, which performed dismally is likely to go full-throttle to make inroads in the region. Those who lost their seats are Lamu Governor Issa Timamy (UDF) and Lunga Lunga MP Khatib Mwashetani (ODM).
The Jubilee government has been on a charm offensive in the region highlighted by the distribution of title deeds which sent shockwaves through Cord. However, it remains to be seen whether the political dynamics will change. Land formed the heart of the grievances that saw Jubilee perform dismally in the coastal region. However, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have stated the distribution of title deeds is tied to the politics but rather the delivery of a promise they made to provide an answer to the land question.

In Lamu, Jubilee partners, The National Alliance and United Republican Party, will have to decide whether to field a candidate or support Timamy since UDF has a post-election agreement with the ruling coalition. Unlike other counties in Coast Province, Lamu is largely cosmopolitan with a huge presence of upcountry immigrants, the reason why no single party holds sway in the area. They are mainly from the Kikuyu, Kamba and Luo communities. In the March 4 elections, Julius Kariuki Ndegwa of Kenya National Congress (KNC) clinched the Lamu West parliamentary seat, making him the first non-indigenous Member of Parliament (MP) from the county.
Ali Sharif Athmani (UDF) clinched the Lamu East. Kariuki, a former Bahari Ward counciLlor, beat Ahmed Rishad Hamid, a political stalwart by the local standards. Rishad, who contested on Democratic Party (DP) ticket, put up a strong contest against Ndegwa by getting 10,639 votes against Ndegwa’s 11,560 votes.
Political pundits opine that population explosion-and huge vote bloc- around Mpeketoni and Hindi areas cannot be ignored in any electoral process including the upcoming gubernatorial byelection. Apart from being vote rich, the area’s voter turnout fairs better than other areas. It is perhaps against this backdrop that Governor Issa Timamy picked 29-year-old Eric Kinyua Mugo as his running mate to consolidate his vote base. County women representative is Shakila Mohamed Abdalla of Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM). Senator Abu Chiaba ran on The National Alliance (TNA).
This means it will be an open contest when the by-election is held depending on how the two coalitions approach the mini-poll. In Mombasa County, Governor Hassan Joho’s victory in the court petition is likely to bolster Mwashetani’s chances of making a return. Upon the court’s ruling, Joho said he will campaign vigorously to ensure he recaptures the seat. Joho could, however, still land in trouble if a case challenging the validity of his academic certificate succeeds.
A former student leader in Uganda is challenging the authenticity of degree certificate from Kampala University. Silas Make Otuke claims to have evidence to show that Joho did not attend classes nor sit for exams at Kampala University. Those who survived the petitions are Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, Kwale senator Boy Juma Boy, Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu and MPs Naomi Shabaan (Taveta) and Badi Twalib (Jomvu). Shabaan is the only MP from TNA in the area.
By MWANGI MURAGURI