His heavy defeat at the hands of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, former Senator Hassan Omar is facing a battle of his life to bring his political career back on track. Not even the petition he filed in High Court challenging Joho's election could save him.
However, the recent political truce between President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga could give him a political lifeline going into 2022 election.
Omar's popularity in Mombasa politics dipped when he took an unexpected move to join Jubilee Party. But with the newfound political love between Uhuru and Raila, the former Wiper Secretary General can reap big from it as he can shed the traitor tag which has haunted him and reinvent his political career.
Recently, Deputy President took advantage of the truce to traverse the region and was joined by NASA-allied MPs who promised to back his 2022 presidential ambitions.
So what next for the next Senator? Though he has not made public his next political move after the 2017 gamble, Omar cannot be ruled out of Mombasa politics yet.
The traitor tag may be a thing of the past and as political realignments start taking shape, the firebrand politician may reemerge as a formidable force in the next general election.