Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho with Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba at a past rally. Photo: Hassan Joho/ facebook.com
Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba may after all be Governor Hassan Joho's running mate come August if the latest flurry of political happenings in Mombasa are anything to by.
Despite being elected on a Wiper Party ticket in 2013, Bedzimba is regarded as one of Joho's right-hand men and is backing his re-election.With his loyalty to the Kalonzo Musyoka-led Wiper being subjected to scrutiny, the lawmaker confirmed that his heart is in ODM when he finally joined the party last week in a move that ended many weeks of speculation regarding his political future.This comes at a time when the Governor is still shopping for a running mate having lost his deputy Hazel Katana to Jubilee.The debate on the role of Bedzimba in the Mombasa Governor race was reignited on Saturday when ODM leader Raila Odinga reportedly met Ali Mbogo, an aspiring Kisauni MP who recently ditched the party for Wiper over fears that he will be rigged out during the primaries.Mbogo is famous in the constituency and ODM is reportedly keen to see to him rejoin the party and replace the party's new-catch, Bedzimba, who is reportedly expected to deputize Joho.Bedzimba has in the past denied that he will deputise Joho. However, the latest turn of events in the county suggest that Mombasa politics will take a new twist.