Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shahbal at a past event. [Photo: Suleiman Shahbal/ facebook.com]
Mombasa Jubilee gubernatorial candidate Suleiman Shahbal has vowed to tackle Mombasa’s drug problem in a continued attempt to defeat Governor Hassan Joho.
Shahbal, in a Monday statement said drug use has been a constant problem in Mombasa calling it a “cancer to our city of Mombasa.”Drug use in Mombasa has been an increasing concern for residents owing to lack of effective law enforcement, high unemployment rate and influence among peers.Shahbal termed the situation dire calling Mombasa an epicenter of most drugs with an estimated 96,000 drug users, 40 drug houses and only three rehab centers.He urged Mombasa residents to vote for him.Shahbal promised to fight against the drug menace by encouraging citizen arrests on drug peddlers. He promised a watertight conviction on drug peddlers.While addressing rehab patients in Mombasa, he pledged to pay for their treatment in August.He pledged that when voted in, his administration would ensure treatment for drug users would be free and that he would build more rehabilitation centers.Latest opinion polls show Shahbal is trailing Joho with a popularity rating of 12 per cent against Joho’s 74 per cent.During the 2013 general election Joho beat Shahbal when he garnered 132,507 votes against Shahbal’s 94,918.