- Hamisi Mwaguya and Abdulsalam Kassi vowed to unseat the incumbent accusing him of not articulating residents' issues.
- However, Faki said he deserves a second term in office for representing Mombasa well.
The Mombasa senator post race will be hotly contested in next year’s general election.
Hamisi Mwaguya and Abdulsalam Kassim, who also ran in the 2017 election, have declared their interest and vowed to unseat the incumbent, Mohammed Faki, accusing him of not articulating residents' issues.
Mwaguya, a close ally of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, has vowed to use his grassroots network to unseat Faki.
In 2017, Mwaguya and Faki engaged in a fierce battle for the ODM nomination ticket. Mwaguya lost and run as an independent candidate.
There were claims that Mwaguya had been rigged out in the nomination in favour of Faki because he led in Nyali, Kisauni and Likoni, while Faki won in Changamwe.
Faki garnered 11,135 votes against Mwaguya’s 9,106 in the nomination . He went on to clinch the senatorial seat after defeating Jubilee’s Hazel Katana. Mwaguya came in third as an independent.
Mwaguya, a youthful politician, on Tuesday said the current senator has been inactive and failed to represent the interest of the people of Mombasa in the Senate.
“Faki has been missing in action and I do not think he has fulfilled the mandate of protecting the interests of the people of Mombasa, especially on his oversight role,” the aspirant said.
“I have hit the ground running and I am telling my opponents to be prepared for the big wave that is coming in 2022.”
Mwaguya has, however, remained silent on his political party of choice, adding that his supporters should wait for the final announcement soon.
On the other hand, Kassim, who lost his bid during the Jubilee party nominations, on Tuesday told the Star that he will be back in the race and is currently working on a winning formula to ensure he clinches the seat.
The vocal politician threw jabs at Faki, saying that the senator's office has not been felt by the people of Mombasa.
“Since Faki took over the office, nothing much has been seen about the office. People do not recognise or feel the existence of the office,” Kassim said.
He accused the senator of being quiet and failing to fight corruption in the county.
“We only see him on TV. There are a lot of corruption issues and ghost projects going on in the county, yet he remains silent,” he said.
Kassim, a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto, did not reveal whether he would ditch Jubilee to join Ruto’s UDA but assured residents that he will be on the ballot.
But in response, Faki declared that he is ready to defend his seat, saying he deserves a second term.
The soft spoken senator said he has been vocal on the floor of the Senate articulating issues affecting residents.
He told off his opponents, saying he is ready to face them at the ballot.
“I am ready to face them head-on at the ballot. I have done exceptionally well in representing my people and articulating their issues at the Senate,” he said.
Former Mombasa Deputy Governor Hazel Katana, who vied for the Senate seat on a Jubilee ticket in 2017, said she is not ready to share her next political move.
“A lot is going on right now, I do not wish to say anything at the moment,” she told the Star on the phone.
Katana came in second in the 2017 general election after Faki.
-Edited by SKanyara