The March 7, 2016 Malindi constituency by-election turned out to be the turning point in Coast politics as Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho cemented his grip on the region's politics after humiliating President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Having clashed with Uhuru in Mombasa two months to the by-election, Joho had an opportunity to revenge. And even in the run to that bruising contest, tension was building up as no side was ready to be floored.
Rooting for the election of ODM candidate Willy Baraka Mtengo, Joho camped in Malindi town bankrolling his party's campaigns. Alongside his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi, the firebrand politicians were keen to embarrass Uhuru's Jubilee Party candidate, Philip Charo.
Then came the by-election. It was a tight race but the ODM candidate Willy Mtengo carried the day after garnering 15,582 votes against Charo's 9,243. With a margin of over 6000 votes, the "Sultan" had managed to fully lock the region from Jubilee and Uhuru Kenyatta's party had to go back to the drawing board even as 2017 election beckoned.
With his newfound political muscle, Joho became virtually unbeatable even as his popularity soared. For Uhuru, despite the well-oiled campaigns, his political strategy of poaching ODM politicians failed to save his face.
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