Suleiman Shahbal has been named Jubilee Party’s flag bearer for the Mombasa governor seat and Anania Mwaboza his running mate.
The two reached the deal after several meetings, the last of which took place at a Penthouse Suite at English Point Marina, at about 11pm on Sunday.
Deputy President William Ruto chaired the meeting that sealed the deal and announced on Monday that ‘Team Shahbal’ and ‘Team Mwaboza’ no longer existed.
“Team Shahbal will be Team Mwaboza and Team Mwaboza will be team Shahbal. Now we have Team Jubilee in Mombasa,” said Ruto.
He made the announcement at Wild Waters Complex where he met more than 300 Jubilee aspirants from the Coast region.
This ends months of infighting between supporters of both Shahbal and Mwaboza, which had threatened the chances of Jubilee clinching the seat in ODM-dominated Mombasa county.
Governor Hassan Joho is deputy leader of Raila Odinga’s ODM party.
Jubilee politician Ananiah Mwaboza chats with Deputy president William Ruto as Mombasa governor aspirant Suleiman Shahbal looks on,Shahbal and Mwaboza have vowed to work together to win the Mombasa governor seat.Photo/John Chesoli
The deal, according to sources who were at the meeting, involves 50-50 sharing of all county government positions.
“All appointments will be done after consultation between the governor and the deputy governor,” one said.
Shahbal said they joined hands because they have common goals.
“On August 10, we will have taken over Mombasa and will begin the journey to create thousands of jobs for youth. We will not overburden small scale traders with taxes,” he said.
Mwaboza later told the Star: “There have been several meetings in Nairobi and Mombasa. All we want is a better Mombasa with jobs for the youth.”
The politician told the Star a month ago that the Mijikenda community will not settle for the deputy governor position. He said today that sometimes people make sacrifices for the greater good.
“Like the late Saitoti said, there comes a time when the country is bigger than an individual. I say the time has come when the county is bigger than two individuals named Shahbal and Mwaboza,” said the former Kisauni MP.
The deal puts Jubilee in a better place in terms of votes since Mwaboza’s Mijikenda community has the highest number of registered voters in Mombasa (more than 130,000).
Shahbal commands a significant following among the Swahili-Arabs, meaning other aspirants for the county chief seat have to return to the drawing board.
Nyali MP Awiti Bolo, who is one of the aspirants, has declared that his running mate will be from the Mijikenda community.
This means the Mijikenda votes will be divided among him, Shahbal and Joho, who also enjoys a significant following among the people.
In 2013, Shahbal got more than 98,000 votes in Mombasa against Joho’s that were about 138,000.
Joho’s treatment of Deputy Governor Hazel Katana, who is also from the Mijikenda community, may also have a significant bearing on the number of votes he will get from her people.
“[He could do] something to appease them but this may come too late given the time left to the August 8 election,” political analyst Mwakuja Mrombo told the Star by phone today.
Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar is yet to declare his choice of a running mate but it is likely to be a youthful academician or a human rights activist.
Source-the-star.co.ke
