The Gema and Kamba communities in Mombasa want to form an alliance to capture the Nyali and Changamwe parliamentary seats.
Gema’s Crispus Waithaka and Kamba’s Daniel Muange on Wednesday told the Star they want their communities represented in the next county government. The Gema community is drafting a memorandum spelling out its demands to a governor aspirant who seeks it.
They want the Nyali seat and several MCA slots. A similar demand has been made by the Luhya community in Mombasa. The Gema community is not represented in any elective or nominated position.
Waithaka, who is the Gema Mombasa chairman, said the current administration has ruined their businesses. “We had one of our own as the Nyali ward councillor for 15 years before devolution. We want to recapture the seat, which is now Nyali constituency,” he said.
Five ward seats
Muange said the Kamba want the Changamwe seat, which had been held by Kennedy Kiliku for 15 years, and five ward seats. These demands are likely to trigger a fresh round of meetings with the four governor aspirants. They are Governor Hassan Joho, Nyali MP Hezron Awiti, Senator Hassan Omar and businessman Suleiman Shahbal.
The Kamba hold 40 per cent of the 440,000 votes in Mombasa while the Gema hold about 22 per cent. The two believe they can push the number of registered voters from their communities even higher.
Muange said: “The Kamba are about 70 per cent of the population in Changamwe, yet we do not have even an MCA. We need to change this.” Already, Awiti has met the Gema and Kamba communities, while Joho has met the Luhyas.
