Thousands of mourners attended the burial of the longest serving Mvita and Coastal region Member of Parliament Sheriff Nassir Abdallah Taib, at Sarigoi Muslim cemetery in December 2005.
Nassir who was the father to the current Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir, died during morning hours of Sunday, November 27, 2005 when he was rushed to a Mombasa Hospital for medication after collapsing at his Ganjoni house at around 6.15 a.m.
Below are facts about the late veteran politician.
1. He was born in 1926 in Lamu.
2. He was educated at Serani primary School (formerly Arab Boys School) and Shimo la Tewa Secondary School where he took junior and senior Cambridge examinations.
3. He joined politics before independence where he was one of the top Coast Peoples Party (CPP) leaders.
4. Nassir joined Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) - after independence - whose leader was former Cabinet Minister in Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's regime, the late Ronald G Ngala.
5. Ngala and Nassir joined the Kenya African National Union (KANU) when KADU was disbanded.
6. Nassir was Ngala's KANU Mombasa branch vice chairperson.
7. Ngala died in 1972, and Nassir took over the branch leadership.
8. He was a Councillor representing Makadara ward before he was elected the Mombasa Central (now Mvita) MP, defeating Mr Jahazi during the 1974 general elections.
He was then appointed Home Affairs Cabinet Minister.
9. During the 2002 general elections, he lost the seat he occupied for 24 years to Najib Balala.
10. He later became the Mvita branch chairman untill his death.
11. He was a close ally of former President Daniel Arap Moi.
Among the prominent politicians who attended the late Nassir's burial were the then leaders of the official opposition, Uhuru Kenyatta, Mombasa Mayor Taib Ali Taib and former ministers, Raila Odinga, Najib Balala and Morris Dzoro.
Others included MPs, Ramadhan Seif Kajembe, William Ruto, Ali Wario, Gideon Moi, Abu Chiaba and Fahim Twaha.
Former MPs, Rashid Sajjad, Mohamed Hashim, Mohamed Jahazi, Chibule wa Tsuma and former Malindi Mayor Gideon Mung'aro, were also in attendance.
Arap Moi said the deceased would be remembered for his astuteness in mobilizing the masses for any cause he believed in.