The battle for the coast region kingpin, pitting governors Hassan Joho (Mombasa), Amason Kingi (Kilifi) and Salim Mvurya (Kwale), has intensified as pressure builds on them to deliver votes for their chosen presidential candidates.
The three county bosses are serving their second and final terms in office.
They have stepped up their campaigns as they criss-cross coast region counties that have a combined 1.96 million votes.
Keen to eclipse Mr Mvurya in his own backyard, Mr Joho, who is the Azimio Lands Cabinet Secretary-designate, has renewed efforts to remain Coast’s political kingpin. He led ODM campaigns in Kwale over the weekend and vowed to rally local leaders behind the party of which he is deputy leader.
Kwale has been an ODM zone but suffered a resounding defeat in the December 2020 Msambweni by-election where Mr Feisal Bader, who had contested as an independent, won.
The loss dented Mr Joho’s political influence in the region, but he has declared that Kwale must be taken back into the ODM fold.
Mr Joho said his support for ODM is to ensure people at the coast have a route to the presidency as they await Mr Odinga’s turn to return their favour.
“We’ve all along supported Mr Odinga. That will not change this time round. We must have ODM foot soldiers so that we have the numbers in the National Assembly and the Senate,” Mr Joho said.
But Mr Mvurya countered that Kwale was an independent political entity with a functioning administration.
The county boss, who stamped his authority in the region’s politics by outwitting Mr Joho and Mr Kingi in the 2020 Msambweni poll, scoffed at sentiments that the region is an ODM zone and will vote for Mr Odinga.
He added that the Ruto-led United Democratic Alliance (UDA) will go to the grassroots in order to build its support base.
“Mr Joho should not meddle in our affairs. He has never put up any development projects in Kwale. Why would you listen to him? You must listen to me,” he said, adding that he is also a force to reckon with in national politics.
He said that even though Mr Joho has promised to solve the land challenges, the issues will be addressed in a better way by the Kenya Kwanza government.
Mr Mvurya was speaking to residents in Ramisi while on a series of campaign stops in villages a day after Mr Joho’s visit.
He has been leading UDA campaigns in Mombasa, Kwale and Taita-Taveta counties.
Mr Mvurya urged residents to vote for the DP, saying, being close to the government, just the way he was in the Jubilee government, is a surety that there will be more development projects.
Mr Kingi is the only second-term governor in the region with his own political party, the Pamoja African Alliance. He accused Mr Odinga of taking the coast people for granted.
He told voters to consolidate their position in Kenya Kwanza and support the DP’s presidential bid, adding that DP Ruto would continue to pitch camp in Coast in a bid to eat into the ODM support base in the region ahead of the August 9 polls.
The DP has made several trips to the coast to shore up support. “PAA has successfully carved a niche for itself in the Kenyan political landscape, and the August 9 General Election will provide ample proof that the indestructible hope of the coast people for a party of their own has finally come to pass,” Mr Kingi said.
