Save Coast by helping Ruto beat Raila in Msambweni, Omar says
Hassan Omar during a past press conference.
What you need to know:
- The move by the DP, Coast political analyst Hassan Mwakimako said, is meant to establish his presence in the region.
- Prof Mwakimako said the DP has seen the tell-tale signs of his party blocking his way to the presidency and is paving his own path
ODM is expected to decide on who will carry the party ticket on October 1 with reports indicating that Omar Boga is likely to get the opportunity.
Deputy President William Ruto’s allies in Coast region are setting the stage for a bruising battle with Orange Demoratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga in the upcoming Msambweni by-election, albeit through a proxy candidate.
With staunch Ruto ally and former Mombasa senator Hassan Omar leading the campaigns for independent candidate Feisal Bader, the DP has all but announced his intentions to fight ODM for the seat after his Jubilee Party pulled out of the race.
“We must defeat Raila in Msambweni. We can redefine our political future with victory. We, as Coast people, do not need Raila to negotiate our destiny,” said Mr Omar. He said it was high time the region took charge of its own destiny, adding that this would only happen if it helped the DP form the next administration after the 2022 General Election.
“During Museveni’s war with Rwanda, there was decisive battle of Kisangani. In World War Two, there was the battle of Barbarossa, and during this war of redeeming the Coast region, there will be decisive the battle of Msambweni,” he said. Mr Omar said that he, together with other Coast leaders, will be in Dr Ruto’s administration.
New government
Voters, he said, will make history in the world by sending both the government and opposition home in 2022. He said there will be both a new government and opposition through the “hustler movement”.
“We will send all of them home. Raila, Mudavadi and Uhuru must go home. Kalonzo Musyoka too. We are not pleading with you. Only hustlers will remain in the next government. Kenyans will reclaim this country. The hustler movement has undergone tribulations in the hands of the dynasties,” he added.
Dr Ruto has indicated that he will support Mr Bader, a relative of former MP Suleiman Dori who died in March. He met Mr Bader a day after Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju said the party will not field a candidate in the upcoming by-election.
The move by the DP, Coast political analyst Hassan Mwakimako said, is meant to establish his presence in the region. Prof Mwakimako said the DP has seen the tell-tale signs of his party blocking his way to the presidency and is paving his own path.
Presidential bid
“What he wants in this by-election is to test the waters. He must be planning for his 2022 presidential bid and that is why he is very keen in getting to those areas deemed as ODM strongholds,” he said.
He, however, noted that Mr Odinga’s influence in Kwale is still intact and that it will not be a walk in the park for the DP’s camp in the by-election.
Prof Mwakimako said Mr Odinga has an upper hand.
“It is clear that the DP’s camp will use the issue of their candidate being a relative of the late MP, but that will not be enough. It will be a hard task for them in them polls,” he said.
ODM is expected to decide on who will carry the party ticket on October 1 with reports indicating that Omar Boga is likely to get the opportunity.
Mr Boga who is the former Bongwe/Gombato MCA, is fighting for the ticket with ODM Kwale branch vice chairman Nicholas Zani.
Even as ODM plans to unveil its candidate, the party has told the DP that he will suffer the same fate that befell him in the Kibra by-election.
