President Uhuru Kenyatta when he officially received Mombasa Deputy Governor Hazel Katana in Jubilee Party at State House, Mombasa. [Photo/ PSCU]
President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party is facing an intricate political arithmetic in Mombasa in the run to the August polls after Hazel Katana failed to clinch the party ticket to run for the senator seat.In a nomination exercise that was dogged with controversies, Abdulsalam Kassim floored Katana who is also Mombasa Deputy Governor.Earlier, Katana who was poached by Jubilee in a strategic move to get entry into the region where NASA Presidential candidate Raila Odinga enjoys a fanatical following, had rejected the results and filed an appeal with the party's disputes tribunal.Sources privy to the happenings in Jubilee indicated that President Kenyatta is keen to secure Katana's political future as his handlers were reportedly working behind-the-scenes to secure her a party ticket. However, their effort was dealt a blow after the party's disputes tribunal upheld Abdulsalam's win; a move that throws Governor Hassan Joho deputy's political career in limbo.May be as a way to express her disappointment, Katana was not present when Abdulsalam was issued the nomination certificate on Monday.Coming from the populous Mijikenda community, Katana was to serve as a link between the President and her community in their bid to tilt the political scales in their favour.Despite making numerous trips to the county, President Kenyatta seems to have failed to sway the region into the Jubilee formation. With Katana's unforeseen lose in the primaries, he has to come up with new strategies to upset the status quo.