Tourism Minister Najib Balala at a past event. [Photo/ buzzkenya.com]
In the next two months, Kenyans will be going to the polls to elect new leaders. But for Najib Balala, he will be in the political cold for the next five years as he is not contesting any seat in the August 8 elections.
Balala was among politicians who were elected to parliament in the 2002 elections when for the first time in the country's history, a united opposition eclipsed KANU from power.He also inherited the Mvita MP hot seat that was once held by powerful Moi-era politician Sharif Nassir.He immediately mastered the game after he was appointed to the cabinet by former President Mwai Kibaki during his first term in office where he served as Minister for Sports.Following the death of Cabinet Minister and Kisauni MP Karisa Maitha in 2004, Balala became the face of Mombasa and Coast politics. Even after he was fired from the Cabinet in 2005 alongside seven others including Raila Odinga, the former Mombasa Mayor was unmoved.He teamed up with other politicians to form the famous 'Pentagon' that took the country by storm in the run to the 2007 elections.Despite the contentious Presidential elections, Balala recaptured his Mvita seat. And with the formation of the grand coalition government, Balala was appointed to the cabinet where he served as Tourism Minister from 2008 to 2012 where he was fired in a cabinet reshuffle after a fallout with Raila Odinga.Since then, Balala has failed to rediscover his political ‘magic' that once made him one of the brightest politicians in the country.In the 2013 elections, he suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of a newcomer Hassan Omar in the race for Mombasa Senator as he garnered 65,804 votes against Omar's 130,605.President Uhuru Kenyatta gave him a lifeline when he was appointed to the cabinet.As to what future holds for Balala in the Kenyan political scene remains to be seen.