In Kenya there are seven regional coordinators in charge of the now defunct provincial administrations that were ousted by the 2010 Constitution.
Nelson Marwa is the man in charge of the Coastal region.
So who exactly is Nelson Marwa?
The outspoken and often controversial Coast regional coordinator is a man who has rubbed powerful politicians from the region the wrong way, with his usual phrase “I don’t fear anybody but God so I will serve the citizens of this nation according to my calling as a security officer.”
Marwa, a son of a missionary, was born in Kuria, Migori County, and grew up in Tanzania and Uganda.
He has a degree in Business Administration from Baraton University, and two Masters in Strategic Security Management from Virginia School of Coast Guards and Disaster Management from Israel.
He worked as a lecturer at Egerton University in 1991 before joining the provincial administration.
He is among the few people from the Kuria community who are highly educated and hold prestigious posts in the country.
His current post as a regional coordinator has seen him attract a lot of admiration as well as criticism from leaders across the political divide.
He has served the country as a security officer for a solid 24 years, rising through the ranks from a junior civil servant, to the all powerful security coordinator.
A section of members of the public have called for his appointment as the Inspector General of Police due to his no-nonsense approach to matters security.
Marwa was appointed the Mombasa County commissioner after the promulgation of the new Constitution in 2010, a position he held until early this year when President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him as the Coast regional coordinator to oversee Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu, Taita Taveta and Tana River Counties.
Marwa is not afraid to step on people’s toes, especially when he strongly believes he is right.
Just recently, he threatened to arrest Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho after he led a group of youths in demolishing a perimeter wall on a piece of land belonging to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
The coordinator enjoys a rich legacy of fighting terror and the drug menace at the Coast head on.
He is respected by both friends and foe for having cracked down on extremism and jihadist ideologies that threatened to disrupt peace at the Coast.
Hate him or love him, Nelson Marwa, the fierce chairman of the regional coordinators across the county, is a man of his word.