Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his former deputy Hazel Katana at a past event. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke.]
Immediate former Mombasa Deputy Governor Hazel Katana made a political gamble when she ditched Governor Hassan Joho’s camp to join Jubilee.
Despite being guaranteed a Jubilee Party ticket to vie for the county senator position, Katana's political headache was compounded when she was floored in the nominations by little-known Abdulsalam Kassim. However, it took the intervention of the Jubilee party for IEBC to nullify Kassim's win and hand over the certificate to Katana.While the August 8 poll was seen as an opportunity for her to reinvent her political career, it was never the case as she was trounced by ODM's Mohamed Faki.Katana garnered 47,524 votes as Faki polled 109,639 to be declared senator-elect.As politicians now go back to the drawing to strategize on their next moves, Katana is not an exception considering how her political strategy backfired during the just-concluded poll.Her greatest undoing was to wedge a political war against Joho, a political heavyweight, not only in Mombasa but in Kenya.Seen as President Uhuru Kenyatta's disciple in Mombasa, Katana is most likely to secure a government job. However, politically, she may have to consider mending fences with the 'Sultan' if she is to avoid disappearing into political oblivion.