•Mwadime, who is referred to as Wakujaa trounced Samboja with 49,901 votes.
•Samboja of the Jubilee party came second with 23,703 votes.
Image: SOLOMON MUINGI
After months of rigorous campaigns and hotly contested elections, the dust is slowly settling down.
It is however claiming casualties with politicians being dislodged from power.
Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja and his Lamu counterpart Fahim Twaha are the recent casualties of the August 9 general election.
They are the only governors who lost their seats in the Coast region.
The two had only served for one term from 2017.
Samboja was defeated by an Independent candidate Andrew Mwadime, while Twaha was shown the door by former Lamu Governor Issa Timamy.
Mwadime, who is referred to as Wakujaa trounced Samboja with 49,901 votes.
Samboja of the Jubilee party came second with 23,703 votes.
Former governor John Mruttu (UDA) finished third with 13,865 votes while former senator Dan Mwazo (Wiper) got 11,543 votes.
While addressing journalists shortly after he was declared the winner by the IEBC county returning officer Esha Mohammed on Saturday, Mwadime lauded his supporters for trusting in his leadership.
Mwadime becomes the second governor to be elected on an independent ticket after Meru’s Kawira Mwangaza who defeated the incumbent Kiraitu Murungi.
“I thank everybody for giving me a chance to serve the great people of Taita Taveta. My team has a long list of priorities but we shall deal with fighting hunger and revamping the economy,” he said.
He said he will bring all other leaders together to strategise on how to bring development to the region.
In Lamu, Timamy garnered 24,198 votes against Twaha's 16,054 votes.
Timamy, a Lawyer by profession served as the first governor of Lamu at the advent of the devolved system of government in 2013.
However, in 2017 he lost the seat to the Twaha.
He, however, made a successful comeback after he was announced the new governor by Lamu returning officer Maro Ade at the Lamu Fort Hall -the county tallying centre.
Also in the gubernatorial race were former deputy governor Eric Mugo who got 2,151 votes and Umra Omar Bwana who managed 7,556 votes.
Speaking shortly after he was awarded his certificate, Timamy thanked the people of Lamu for voting for him and vowed not to disappoint them.
He said he was elated to be the people's choice and swore to restore Lamu’s lost glory.
“I will ensure the hospitals are well-equipped and have adequate medical personnel to enable the Lamu people to have easy access to quality health care,” Timamy said.
He pledged to restore festivals in the region as they were a major boost to the Tourism sector and ensure the Lamu old town regains its 'Island of festivals' status.
He said he plans to achieve a 10-year development in five years.
Gideon Mungaro and Fatma Achani are also the two new governors at the coast after winning the Kilifi and Kwale gubernatorial seats respectively.
Achani will now take over from Salim Mvurya, whereas Mung'aro takes over Amason Kingi. Mvurya and Kingi have completed their two five-year terms in office.
She garnered 59,674 votes to defeat ODM’s Hamadi Boga who garnered 53, 972 votes. Lung'anzi came third with 47, 301 votes.
In Tana River, the incumbent governor Major (Rtd) Dhado Godana retained his seat by beating his close competitor and first Tana River governor Hussein Dado with a small margin of only 259 votes.
Godana got 26,892 whereas Dado got 26,663 votes.
Others who were in the race include Nuh Nassir (Upia party) who managed 24,101 and outgoing Bura MP Ali Wario of Jubilee who got only 10,473 votes.
Mombasa is expected to elect a new governor on August 23 to succeed incumbent Hassan Joho.
The gubernatorial election in the coastal town was called off by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission following a mix-up in the printing of ballot papers.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris