Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar at a past event. The Senatorial seat which was hotly contested in 2013 has this time round been relegated to the periphery with the incumbent Senator Omar expected to challenge Joho for the Governor seat. Photo/ buzzkenya.com
Mombasa politics have in the past few months been at the centre of the national political scene; a situation which has been amplified by Jubilee's desire to take control of the county, as they front Suleiman Shahbal to wrestle power from ODM's Hassan Joho.However, the Senatorial seat which was hotly contested in 2013 by the county's political bigwigs has this time round been relegated to the periphery with the incumbent Senator Hassan Omar expected to challenge Joho for the Governor seat.After ditching ODM for Jubilee, Mombasa Deputy Governor Hazel Katana is the front runner for the seat and is seen as Jubilee's preferred candidate.However, she is expected to fight a bruising battle to win the ticket.There is a new sheriff in town, Abdulsalam Kassim, popularly known as 'Madevu', whose entry has thrown the spanner into the works for Katana who expected an easy ride en route to the ballot.To add onto the Jubilee headache, there is Farid Ahmed, the party's coordinator in the coast region who is equally a favourite to clinch the party ticket ahead of the poll.As for NASA, Mohamed Abass, former Mombasa County Youth Executive has also tendered his resignation and is the front runner to clinch the ODM party ticket.Abass is considered a close ally of Governor Joho who is the determining factor in county politics.Mombasa County Education Executive, Tendai Mtana is expected to quit his job to join the crowded but boring race. However, he is yet todisclose his political vehicle. But he is believed to be eing the ODM ticket as well.Trade Executive Hamisi Mwaguya, another close ally of the ODM deputy party leader has also thrown the hat into the ring in what may be a double-headache for Joho who currently has his own battles to deal with.Just recently, Lawyer Mohamed Faki announced his arrival into the murky world of politics and is also keen to succeed Omar who has been accused of failing to represent the interests of the people of Mombasa in the Senate.