NASA leader Raila Odinga, Kwale Senator Boy Juma Boy and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho in a past function. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
Just two months into 2017, NASA leader Raila Odinga was dealt the first political blow of the year following the demise of Kwale Senator Boy Juma Boy.
The firebrand Senator had not been seen in public for some time even as it emerged that he was ailing and that he had been hospitalised at Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi. But on Sunday, February 12, the veteran politician was pronounced dead as the nation was sent into mourning.
Juma Boy's death was not just like any other.
First, the former KANU Chief Whip was one of the most experienced politicians in the country, having joined politics nearly three decades ago.
Besides that, the Senator who is known for his oratory skills was one of Raila's key political rocks in the Coast region which President Uhuru Kenyatta was keen to swing into the Jubilee formation.
Of concern to the former Prime Minister was the timing of his death which came when Jubilee was making significant inroads in Kwale.
And Boy was seen as the main cog to reverse the ruling party's gains in the region considering that Governor Salim Mvuruya had dumped ODM for Jubilee.
During that late Senator's burial which was attended by Raila and his political lieutenants from the region, tempers flared as Lunga Lunga MP Khatib Mwashetani who read President Uhuru Kenyatta's speech was booed off the podium by a hostile crowd.
The firebrand Senator's death forced Raila to rethink his political strategy in the region with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi becoming his main political rocks in the region.
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