Probably when the history of Coast politics is written, former Kinango MP Gonzi Rai’s name will appear somewhere. Why? He weathered many political storms that are associated with the region’s politics to serve in Parliament for 20 years.
Known as a shrewd politician, Rai burst into the political limelight in 1992 when he was elected on a KANU ticket. However, his stay in Parliament was short-lived as he lost the seat to Simeon Mkalla in 1997.
Five years later, he was back and literally made the seat his own. This is despite vying on a Ford People ticket at a time the NARC political wave swept across the region, leaving no survivors.
As many had written his political obituary, Rai once again confirmed that he waswas a perennial survivor when he survived the ODM wave in 2007 that claimed many political careers. He went on to repeat the same success story in 2013 when he once again triumphed against many people’s expectations.
In 2017, however, the proverbial nine lives of a cat came to an end as he lost the seat to his longtime rival Benjamin Tayari of ODM. His choice of Jubilee Party as his political vehicle could have cost him a fourth consecutive term as MP and 25 years in total as a lawmaker. The loss has thrown his long political career into a spin.
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