- Shahbal has already warned that he will not be taken for a ride.
- Branch chairman says there are no favourites.
Image: LABAN WALLOGA
The ODM nominations in Mombasa look set to be a ‘do or die’ affair for governor aspirants.
Three aspirants are eyeing the party ticket – Mombasa businessman Suleiman Shahbal, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir and Deputy Governor William Kingi.
Shahbal has already warned that he will not be taken for a ride.
In 2013, Shahbal said he was pushed out of ODM after failing to capture the ticket from Governor Hassan Joho.
He ran for governor on the Wiper Democratic Party ticket but lost to Joho.
On Wednesday, Shahbal told more than 150 ODM ward representative aspirants in Mombasa that he will not chicken out of the ODM nominations set for April.
“I know most of you are worried about the nominations, but let me tell you that the Shahbal of 2013 is not the Shahbal of 2022. Nobody is going to take us for a ride this time,” he said.
His arch-rival Nassir is seen as a party favourite because he has been a strong member since 2013. Shahbal is accused of being disloyal and a party hopper.
Shahbal contested on the Wiper ticket in 2013 and then decamped to Jubilee in 2017 before returning to ODM last year.
On Sunday, Shahbal and Nassir are expected to share a podium for the first time.
They will meet at party leader Raila Odinga’s rally on Tononoka grounds.
"I hear there are people saying that they have already secured the party ticket. Baba [Raila] has assured me of free and fair nominations,” Shahbal said on Wednesday.
"We will not sit and wait for people to plan the nominations for us. We will be together on the planning table."
He said the nominations should be inclusive and all aspirants must have agents in every polling station.
“Nobody is going to take us for a ride, my friend. We shall be part and parcel of the entire process. There is no way I'm going to allow people to dictate to us the choice of candidates, yet we have been on the ground doing the donkey work,” Shahbal said.
The governor hopeful said he had talked to ODM Mombasa branch chairman Mohamed Hamisi on aspirants' concerns regarding the nominations.
“I told him I have trust in him because he is a good man, but we need to be guaranteed. We also want involvement. As long as Shahbal is vying for governor, no one is going to be playing with us,” he said.
Party primaries in Kenya are largely chaotic and marred with rigging allegations. In some instances, candidates have been given direct tickets at the expense of others.
Hamisi has said ODM nominations in Mombasa will be free and fair.
The official, who is Joho’s stepbrother, assumed the position following the demise of the once-powerful chairman Mohammed Hatimy in November 2020.
He has revamped the branch since taking over.
The party has attracted more than 300 aspirants in Mombasa ahead of the August 9, 2022, general election.
“There are no favourite candidates in Mombasa, they are all equal in the party and the people will decide who they want,” he said during a recent interview with Star.
"My work has been to support party activities and bring on board all aspirants in a transparent manner."
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya