The political history of the Coast region is incomplete without mentioning the current Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and former Mvita Member of Parliament, Najib Balala.
Balala was a force to reckon with as far as politics in this part of the nation are concerned.
The coastal political arena would have been different had Balala not exited from this cycle.
The battle of supremacy between Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and Balala would have affected the incumbent’s influence in one way or another.
During his reign as Mvita MP, Balala won the hearts of many residents because of his track record.
The flamboyant politician initiated several projects in different parts of the constituency to benefit the youths, women and men in the area.
If Balala had opted to throw himself in the Mombasa gubernatorial race, we would be talking about a different story.
As much as Joho is confident of retaining his seat, Balala's existence in the race would have reduced his chances of securing re-election greatly.
Besides his performance and relationship with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Balala’s decision to keep off the governorship race has boosted Joho’s fight to retain the seat in the next general election.