Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. [Photo/ The Star]
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho’s campaign to be elected has been dealt a major blow, after the Kamba community at the Coast endorsed his rival — Suleiman Shahbal. The Kambas, the second largest vote bloc after the Mijikenda in Mombasa, say Governor Joho has been neglecting them for the past four years. The accuse the ODM deputy party leader of overlooking the community when nominating MCAs to the county assembly and appointing executive members in his cabinet. Mr Shahbal, the Jubilee nominee for the seat, won the hearts of the Kamba leaders when he gave a 30-minute speech in which shared his manifesto of including the marginalised communities in his administration. “Kambas want assurance that they will be included in the next Mombasa government. That is why we are behind Shahbal’s candidature,” said Philip Ndolo, the Kamba Community Advisory Council spokesman, who led the group in endorsing Shahbal.In the last general election, Shahbal got 96,000 votes and finished behind Joho, who garnered 130,000. The Kamba leaders in the meeting, who heard how Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka continued to trust Raila even after being warned by Shahbal that the NASA presidential candidate is a “perennial liar”, said they will vote for President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto in the August 8 general election. “My brother Kalonzo told me to wait because Raila had promised him the presidency. I told him Raila is a perennial liar, but he never listened. Look at what happened,” Shahbal said, as quoted by the Star. The gubernatorial hopeful warned the Kamba community that they will not benefit under NASA even if Raila wins the presidency. He, instead, urged them to back the reelection of President Kenyatta and continue to get development. Joho was also put on the spot for kicking out hawkers from Mombasa town, without providing an alternative. More than 80% of the hawkers in the coastal city are from the Kamba community. “You cannot kick out hawkers without building a market for them. The so-called Sultan has failed completely,” Shahbal said. This comes days after the Mombasa Council of Elders endorsed the reelection of President Uhuru Kenyatta, citing his good development record. They vowed to ensure the President gets the Mombasa vote because he had resettled the landless, issued title deeds, bought a new ferry, upgraded the Port of Mombasa, delivered the Standard Gauge Railway among other projects.