Deputy President William Ruto at a past event. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
Deputy President William Ruto on Friday made an unexpected decision to replace Jubilee’s chief campaigner in the Coast region Suleiman Shahbal with Tourism CS Najib Balala, a move that may make or break the party that is fighting for space in the opposition-leaning region.The move has divided the party supporters in the region right at the middle, with some calling for the reinstatement of Shahbal. The other faction has however pledged to work with Balala.Whereas Ruto might have made the decision with a view to improving President Uhuru Kenyatta's tally in the region in the repeat presidential race, the move may backfire.Shahbal is the man who has built Jubilee Party in the region from the scratch to an extent that the outfit has grown into a force that can compete for political space in the ODM-dominated zone.With over 99,000 votes in Mombasa County during the August 8 polls, Uhuru bettered his tally of around 64,000 votes which he managed in 2013.Besides getting a better return in the August 8 presidential election, Jubilee managed to win various seats in the Coast region compared to four years ago where the party performed dismally.Shahbal may not be as experienced politically as Balala, but under his leadership, Jubilee has managed to make significant inroads in the region, a gain that the party risks reversing following Ruto's move.Since his humiliating defeat in the senator race in 2013, Balala's political career has been on decline and he is not as influential as he was five years ago before Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho elbowed him to be the region's political kingpin.